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200M/09-98-981815 

LANDSCAPE 

GARDENING 


TREATISE  ON  THE  GENERAL 
PRINCIPLES  GOVERNING  OUT- 
DOOR ART;  WITH  SUNDRY 
SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THEIR  AP- 
PLICATION IN  THE  COMMONER 
PROBLEMS  OF  GARDENING 


By  F.  A.  WAUGH 

Professor  of  Horticulture,  University  of  Vermont  and 
State  Agricultural  College 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY 

1903 


Copyright  1899 

BY 

ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY 


PREFACE 


A  thorough  study  of  the  principles  of  good  taste  in 
landscape  gardening  would  be  of  measurable  benefit  to 
two  classes  of  persons, — first,  to  i^racticing  landscape 
gardeners ;  and  second,  to  the  rest  of  mankind.  Such 
a  study  is  probably  more  important  for  the  latter  class, 
partly  because  tliey  constitute  a  larger  company,  and 
partly  because  they  control  the  jDractice  of  the  gardeners 
more  than  the  gardeners'  practice  controls  the  public 
taste. 

There  are  wonderful  opportunities  oj)en  to  most 
persons  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  beauties  of  landscape. 
Many  of  these  opportunities  are  lost  or  only  half  realized, 
because  people  do  not  know  how  to  analyze  and  under- 
stand a  landscape.  A  study  of  the  underlying  principles 
of  landscape  art  ought  to  give  one  the  ability  to 
analyze  a  landscape  picture,  and  to  see  the  various  ele- 
ments of  beauty  in  it.  It  ought  also  to  furnish  a  proper 
basis  for  the  criticism  of  pictorial  effects,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  improve  the  student's  taste  in  such  mat- 
ters. These  things  appear  to  me  to  be  of  first  impor- 
tance, so  that  I  have  always  conducted  my  classes  on  the 
assumption  that,  while  no  student  is  likely  to  become  a 
landscape  gardener,  all  are  bound  to  see  many  ol  the 
beautiful  pictures  in  Nature's  gallery,  and  these  they 
ought  to  understand  and  enjoy.  60984 

At  the  same  time,  it  cannot  be  disputed  that  a  bet- 
ter appreciation  of  the  fundamental  principles  which 
govern   in  picture-making,  outdoors  on  the  lawn,  or 

iii 


IT  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

indoors  on  the  canvas,  is  what  the  practical  gardener  of 
to-day  most  needs.  As  we  go  about  from  year  to  year, 
studying  parks,  cemeteries  and  residence  sites  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  we  find  tliat  ninety-nine  out  of 
every  hundred  faihires  are  to  be  traced  to  the  evident 
fact  that  the  gardener  did  not  understand  the  composi- 
tion as  a  whole,  and  not  to  any  lack  of  his  skill  in  carry- 
ing out  the  details.  The  average  gardener  needs  no 
instruction  in  laying  out  flower  beds,  in  mowing  lawns, 
nor  in  caring  for  shrubbery ;  but  he  docs  need  very 
much  a  better  appreciation  of  the  demands  of  unity, 
variety,  character,  propriety  and  finish. 

F.  A.  WAUGH. 
Univeesity  of  Vermont. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Part  I.— Introductory. 

Paw 
The  Art  and  the  Artist,  Chapter  I, 

Part  II.— The  Artistic  Qualities  of  Landscape  Composition 


A.    Unity,                                                    Chapter  II, 

10 

a. 

The  Natural  Style,                       Chapter  m, 
i.    Naturalness  is  gained  by: 

1.  Open  lawns. 

2.  Curved  lines. 

3.  Grouped  trees. 

4.  Use  of  shrubs. 

5.  Union  of  buildings  with  grounds. 
U     Naturalness  is  lost  by: 

1.  Straight  lines. 

2.  Artificial  constructions. 
8.    Especially  by  bad  fences. 

4.  White  surfaces. 

5.  Badly  treated  plants. 

15 

h. 

The  Architectural  Style,              Chapter  TV, 
Unity  in  the  architectural  style  is  gained  by: 

1.  Proper  geometrical  lines. 

2.  Closely  shaven  lawns. 
8.    Trees  in  rows. 

4.  Chpped  ti-ees  and  shrubs;  topiary  work, 

5.  Architectural  and  statuesque  features. 

6.  Sharp  color  contrasts  or  monotones. 

7.  Terraces. 

8.  Congruous  water  pieces. 

9.  Flowers  in  beds  or  pots. 

26 

c. 

The  Picturesque  Style,                    Chapter  V, 
Unity  in  the  picturesque  style  is  gained  by: 

1.  Odd  plant  forms. 

2.  Uneven  surfaces. 

3.  Dark  color  masses. 

40 

VI  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 


c. 

D. 

E. 


4.     Broken  ground. 

5.     Scattering  grouping  in  middle-ground. 

Variety,                                                Chapter  VI, 

44 

a. 

In  surface. 

1.  Plane. 

2.  Convex. 

3.  Concave. 

4.  Broken  ground. 

5.  Sloi^ing  ground. 

6.  Water. 

b. 

In  form,  is  gained  by: 

1.  Curved  drives  and  walks. 

2.  Partial  concealment  of  principal  objects. 

3.    Diversity  in  design  and   aspect  of   artificial 

features. 

4.    Long  perspectives. 

5.    Diversified  sky  line. 

c. 

lu  materials. 

d. 

In  color. 

e. 

In  texture. 

f. 

In  season. 

1.  Spring  greens. 

2.  June  effects. 

3.  Midsummer  sun  and  shade. 

4.  Autumn  colors. 

5.  Winter  views. 

g- 

In  composition, 

1.  Specimens. 

2.  Groups. 

h. 

In  position. 

1.  Background. 

2.  Middle-ground. 

3.  Foreground. 

4.  Exterior  views. 

Charac 

;ter,                                            Chapter  VII, 

62 

Simplicity,  Complexity,  Dignity,  Boldness,  etc. 

Propriety,                   (Page  63) 

Finish 

Chapter  VHI, 

66 

Finish  demands: 

1.    Perfect  specimens. 

2.     Good  care. 

3.    Cleanliness. 

4.    (Objectively)  Good  atmosphere  and  light. 

TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  VU 

Part  III.— General  Problems. 


A. 

Entrances,  Drives  and  Walks, 

Chapter  IX, 

71 

B. 

The  Planting  of  Streets  and  Avenues,    Chapter  X, 

76 

C. 

Water  and  Its  Treatment, 

Chapter  XI, 

81 

D. 

The  City  or  Suburban  Lot, 

Chapter  XII, 

88 

E. 

The  Ornamentation  of  Farm  Yards 

,  Chapter  XIII, 

93 

F. 

The  Amelioration  of  School  Ground; 

3,  Chapter  XIV, 

97 

G. 

Something  About  Public  Parks, 

Chapter  XV, 

99 

Part  IV.— The  Gardener's 

Materials. 

A. 

A  Select  List  of  Trees, 

Chapter  XVI, 

107 

B. 

The  Best  Shrubs, 

Chapter  XVII, 

113 

C. 

Hardy  Perennials,                              Chapter  XVIII, 

123 

D. 

The  Indispensable  Annuals 

Chapter  XIX, 

129 

E. 

A  Few  Bulbous  Plants, 

Chapter  XX, 

136 

F. 

Climbers, 

Appendix. 

Chapter  XXT, 

141 

Some  Books  on  Landscape  Gardening, 

145 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Fig. 

1.  Landscape  gardening  in  a  laboring  man's  back 

2.  A  harmonious  effect  in  sub-tropical  gardening, 

3.  The  natural  style  in  park  planting, 

4.  Where  shrubs  are  needed, 

5.  Where  shrubs  are  added, 

6.  The  French  idea  of  the  natural  style, 

7.  The  Italian  style  in  Italy, 

8.  The  geometrical  style  on  flat  ground, 

9.  The  Italian  garden  in  America, 

10.  The  architectural  style,  Columbian  exposition 

11.  William  Gilpin's  idea  of  picturesqueness 

12.  A  picturesque  tree, 

13.  Rustic  picturesqueness,    . 

14.  A  good  effect  of  naturalness, 

15.  The  sky  line  properly  punctuated, 

16.  Differences  of  texture  in  foliage, 

17.  A  winter  picture, . 

18.  Background  and  screen  combined, 

19.  Street  entrance,    . 

20.  Entrance  to  a  military  park, 

21.  Diverging  drives,  . 

22.  A  well  planted  street, 

23.  The  effective  use  of  water, 

24.  The  water  mirror, 

25.  Back-yard  garden  in  a  city  lot,  . 

26.  The  privacy  of  the  home  garden, 

27.  Suggestion  for  a  farmyard, 

28.  The  ideal  park, 

29.  The  American  elder, 

30.  Hardy  hydrangea  properly  planted, 

31.  Suggestion  for  border  planting, 

32.  Iceland  poppy, 

33.  Annuals  in  back-yard  garden,    . 

34.  Lilium  speciosum, 
85.  Yucca  fliamentosa,  •  • 

viii 


yard, 


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11 

16 

18 

19 

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28 

30 

33 

37 

41 

42 

43 

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49 

52 

56 

59 

72 

73 

74 

78 

82 

84 

86 

90 

95 

102 

117 

118 

124 

127 

130 

138 

140 


PART  I. 

Introductory. 


CHAPTER  L 

THE  ART  AND  THE  ARTIST. 

**If  now  we  ask  when  and  where  we  need  the  Fine  Art  of 
Gardening,  ninst  not  the  answer  be,  wlienever  and  wlierever 
we  touclithe  surface  of  the  ground  and  the  plants  it  bears 
with  the  wisli  to  produce  an  organized  result  that  shall 
please  tlie  eye?  The  name  we  usually  apply  to  it  must  not 
mislead  us  into  thiuKing  that  this  art  is  needed  only  for  the 
creation  of  broad  '  landscape  '  effects.  It  is  needed  wherever 
we  do  more  than  grow  plants  for  the  money  we  may  save  or 
gain  by  them.  It  does  not  matter  whether  we  have  in  mind 
a  great  park  or  a  small  city  square,  a  large  estate  or  a  modest 
dooryard,  we  must  go  about  our  work  in  an  artistic  spirit  if 
we  want  a  good  result.  Two  trees  and  six  shrubs,  a  scrap  of 
lawn  and  a  dozen  flowering  plants,  may  form  either  a  beau- 
tiful little  picture  or  a  huddled  disarray  of  forms  and 
colors."  Mrs.  Van  Rensselaer. 

Landscape  gardening  is  eminently  a  fine  art.  The 
enumeration  of  painting,  sculpture  and  architecture  as 
the  fine  arts  is  seriously  deficient,  and  yet  it  has  a  wide 
currency.  That  is  a  fine  art  which  attempts  to  create 
organized  beauty — to  unite  several  dissimilar  parts  in 
one  harmonic  whole.  In  this  respect  landscaj)e  art 
stands  on  a  level  with  the  other  fine  arts.  In  some 
other  respects  it  even  surpasses  them. 

Landscape  gardening  is  much  the  best  known  term 
in  America  for  the  subject  which  we  have  now  in  hand. 
Landscape  art  is  an  equally  correct  term,  but  it  does 
not  seem  to  bring  so  clear  a  suggestion  to  most  minds. 
Landscape  architecture  is  much  spoken  of  in  France, 
but  it  is  unsatisfactory  in  English  usage.  In  former 
times  the  simple  word  '^gardening"  was  in  general  use 
in  England  to  designate  this  art,  especially  that  style  of 
gardening  practice  known  as  the  natural,  or  English, 
method.     This  would  still  be  the  most  convenient  word 

3 


4  LANDSCAPii  GARDENING. 

if  we  could  dissociate  it  from  the  growing  of  cabbages 
and  parsnii->s ;  but  that  seems  impossible  with  us  now. 

The  chief  objections  to  the  term  "landscape  gar- 
dening," are  that  it  is  too  long  and  has  too  large  a 
sound.  By  its  ver}'  look  and  sonorousness  it  seems  to 
suggest  princely  and  magnificent  undertakings  of  parks, 
villas  and  hunting  grounds,  and  to  overshoot  entirely 
those  small  domestic  concerns  around  which  the  most  of 
our  life  and  interest  center.  This  is  the  difficulty  we 
would  overcome  if  we  could  get  back  our  older  and 
plainer  w^ord,  "gardening."  But  landscajoe  gardening 
does,  nevertheless,  bring  itself  to  the  consideration  of 
these  lowlier  problems ;  and  it  is  for  the  sake  of  such 
smaller  cares  that  we  need  mosb  to  study  its  principles. 
All  persons  ought  to  endeavor  to  understand  the  meth- 
ods and  aims  of  landscape  art,  as  they  endeavor  to  mas- 
ter the  alpliabet  of  literature.  Good  taste  in  gardening 
will  yield  its  possessor  as  much  jileasure  as  good  taste  in 
architecture,  literature  or  music.  And  just  as  one  may 
cultivate  good  taste  in  literature  without  designing  to 
become  a  litterateur,  so  one  may  properly  educate  his 
taste  for  landscape  gardening  with  no  expectation  of 
becoming  a  landscape  gardener. 

Gardening  art  offers  this  advantage  to  its  lovers : 
That  they  can  everywhere  enjoy  it,  and  that  with  com- 
paratively small  expense  they  can  patronize  it  on  their 
own  account.  The  poor  washerwoman  who  has  hardly 
time  to  look  at  the  statue  of  George  Washington  in  the 
city  park,  and  scarce  money  enough  to  biiy  a  chromo,  is 
quite  able  to  grow  geraniums  in  her  windows  and  to 
have  a  pretty  bed  of  marigolds  and  phloxes  in  the  yard. 
The  opportunities  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  this  sort  of 
landscape  art  lie  all  about  us,  while  to  only  a  few  comes 
the  freedom  of  art  galleries  and  exhibitions.  How  cheap 
and  simple  materials  may  be  combined  to  give  an  excel- 
lent effect  is  shown  in  Fig.  1. 


THE  ART  AND  THE  ARTIST 


p-2 


ft  w 

p-i 


§  > 


ft  » 

ft  " 


6  LANDSCAPE  GA.RDENING. 

"Landscape  gardener,"  "landscape  architect," 
'^landscape  artist,"  "gardener,"  have  their  obvious  rela- 
tion to  the  terms  ah*eady  considered.  Whatever  he  may  be 
called,  the  practicioner  of  the  art  is  an  artist.  He  may 
be  a  good  artist,  or  a  poor  one.  He  would  face  the  same 
possibility  if  he  were  a  painter.  It  seems  to  the  writer 
that  the  term  'landscape  gardener"  is  much  the  best 
one  for  American  use  in  all  connections  where  simple 
"gardener"  would  be  of  doubtful  intention.  The  affec- 
tation of  the  title  "landscape  architect"  by  those  profes- 
sionally engaged  in  the  art  seems  to  be  gaining  ground, 
but  it  is  surely  unfortunate.  In  subsequent  chapters  we 
will  distinguish  two  great  schools  of  this  fine  art,  and 
will  endeavor  to  justify  the  names  of  "natural  style" 
and  "architectural  style"  for  them.  If  the  professional 
artists  of  the  former  school  would  call  themselves  land- 
scape gardeners,  and  those  of  the  latter  inclination 
would  assume  the  title  of  landscape  architects,  we  should 
have  a  consistent  and  useful  terminology.  The  fact  is, 
however,  that  some  of  the  Americans  who  call  themselves 
landscape  architects  are  the  warmest  partisans  of  the 
natural  style. 

We  have  already  tried  to  distinguish  between  the 
landscape  artist  and  the  layman  who  has  a  trained  and 
sympathetic  understanding  of  the  artist's  work.  The 
layman  possessed  of  good  artistic  taste  and  a  proper  hor- 
ticultural knowledge  can  doubtless  produce  many  beau- 
tiful and  satisfactory  things  in  his  own  yard;  and  such 
lay  artists  are  sorely  needed.  But  for  real  creative  work 
of  any  magnitude  the  born  and  trained  artist  is  required. 
Genius  like  that  of  Raphael,  or  Turner,  is  more  of  a 
natural  endowment  than  an  education.  Genius  like  that 
of  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  is  of  the  same  order.  In 
the  few  following  pages  the  only  attempt  is  for  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  taste  of  the  layman.  There  are  many 
things  which  he  ought  to  understand,  and  to  that  end  a 


THE  ART  AND  THE   ARTIST.  7 

systematic  classification  of  2^rinciples  and  a  somewhat 
didactic  treatment  of  details  may  be  excused. 

The  order  and  relative  importance  of  the  several 
principles  may  be  understood  most  easily  by  a  study  of 
the  analytical  outline.  It  is  conceived  that  unity,  vari- 
et}^,  character,  i)ropriety  and  finish  are  the  fundamental 
characteristics  of  any  landscape, — that  these  qualities  are 
ultimate  and  coordinate,  though  by  no  means  equally 
important.  Each  work  of  landscape  art  is  to  be  tested 
sej^arately  for  each  of  these  qualities.  The  following 
pages  explain  in  order  how  these  tests  are  to  be  variously 
satisfied. 


PART  11, 


The  Artistic  Qualities  of  Landscape 
Composition. 


CHAPTER   II. 

UNITY. 

Every  yard  should  be  a  picture.  That  is,  the  area  should 
be  set  off  from  every  oilier  area,  and  it  should  liave  such  a 
character  that  the  observer  catches  its  entire  effect  and  pur- 
pose without  stopping  to  analyze  its  parts.  The  yard  should 
be  one  thing,  one  area,  with  every  feature  contributing  its 
part  to  one  strong  and  homogeneous  effect.    L.  H.  Bailey. 

Pictorial  composition  may  be  defined  as  the  proportion- 
ate arranging  and  unifying  of  the  different  features  and 
objects  of  a  picture.  .  .  .  There  must  be  an  exercise  of 
judgment  on  the  part  of  the  artist  as  to  fitness  and  position, 
as  to  harmony  of  relation,  proportion,  color,  light;  and  there 
must  be  a  skilful  uniting  of  all  the  parts  into  one  perfect 
whole.  John  C.  Van  Dyke. 

Unity  and  colierence  are  not  quite  synonymous,  yet 
the  ideas  are  very  closely  related,  and  in  any  extensive 
composition  are  practically  inseparable.  Thus  a  number 
of  objects  of  exactly  the  same  sort  placed  together  would 
undoubtedly  secure  unity  without  any  effort  for  coher- 
ence ;  but  several  dissimilar  objects  may  also  be  assem- 
bled in  satisfying  unity  if,  by  some  obvious  relation  or 
natural  connection,  they  readily  cohere. 

Unity  in  any  landscape  composition  means  that 
some  one  idea  shall  prevail  throughout,  and  that  all 
details  shall  be  subordinate  to  it.  Some  particular  style 
of  expression  must  be  determined  upon  and  consistently 
adhered  to;  and  the  chosen  style  must  not  be  varied 
except,  within  wide  limits  of  space.  Every  item  of  the 
composition,  then,  must  contribute  to  the  perfection  of 
the  predominant  style,  or  must  be  vigorously  expurged, 
no  matter  what  its  individual  excellence. 

Unity  is  not  to  be  realized  unless  the  entire  con- 
struction is  under  control  of  one  mind,  and  this  one 
directing  mind  must  not  only  have  a  perfectly  clear  and 

11 


12  LANDSCAPE  GAR    ENING. 

definite  conception  of  what  the  finished  product  is  to  be, 
but  must  also  be  attached  to  that  ideal  with  such  zeal- 
ous unaltorableness  that  no  item,  however  desirable  by 
itself,  shall  be  admitted  if  not  in  strictest  liarmony  with 
the  pervading  spirit  of  the  work.  Practically  this  means 
that  a  definite  plan  must  be  made  on  paper.  The  unre- 
corded ideal,  even  of  the  artist  whose  conceptions  are 
clearest,  is  sure  to  chano-e  in  time;  and  since  it  must 
always  require  a  considerable  season  to  compass  any 
landscape  ph-^ns,  the  first  keynote  is  likely  to  have  been 
lost  before  the  end  is  reached,  and  the  later  additions 
are  ai)t  to  be  out  of  harmony  with  the  earlier  Avork. 
The  i)]sin  should  be  drawn  Avith  good  inks  on  the  most 
durable  paper ;  and  it  should  be  supplemented  by  writ- 
ten specifications  made  equally  durable.  In  both  plans 
and  specifications  too  great  care  cannot  be  taken,  nor 
too  deep  a  study  made  of  tlie  whole  and  of  each  of  its 
parts;  for,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  it  is  fatal  to 
leave  latitude  for  alteration  in  case  some  parr  proves  to 
have  been  ill-considered.  These  plans  and  specifica- 
tions, too,  cannot  descend  too  deeply  into  the  minutiae 
of  the  composition  ;  for  an  unsympathetic  treatment  of 
the  smallest  items  may  mar  irreparably  the  grandest 
conception.  Mistake  is  common  at  this  ])oint.  Many 
people,  even  landscape  gardeners,  seem  to  think  that  if 
the  p"eneral  outlines  of  the  })lan  are  determined  by  a 
master  artist,  the  construetion  and  all  minor  matters 
may  be  left  to  the  jilantsman,  tlie  florist,  or  the  man-of- 
all-w^ork.  Plans  and  specnfications  are  not  too  explicit 
if  they  locate  every  lilac  bush  and  spiraea  and  clump  of 
eoliimbine,  and  if  they  demand  that  the  lilac  shall  be  a 
Frau  Dammami,  the  spiraea  a  prv?n'f()Iuf,  and  the  colum- 
bine of  the  variety  Skinneri. 

It  is  no  controversion  of  tliis  statement  to  say, — 
what  is  the  undeniable  fact, — that  the  best  considered 
plans  will  not  always  work  out  with  exactness  upon  the 


UNITY  13 

ground.  It  is  indeed  true  that  there  are  aiways  arising, 
in  the  construction,  exigencies  which  require  this  addi- 
tion, tliat  omission,  or  an  entire  change.  It  becomes, 
then,  all  the  more  important  that,  in  all  things  where  it 
is  at  all  possible,  a  predetermined  scheme  shall  be  fol- 
lowed. The  ideas  of  the  author,  conscientiously  worked 
out  in  some  parts,  give  a  definite  suggestion  for  the  con- 
cordant treatment  of  otlier  parts  to  which  his  foresight 
could  not  have  extended.  Nor  is  it  a  sufficient  excuse 
for  changing  any  detail  of  a  plan  that  some  other  item 
seems  at  the  time  to  be  better  than  the  one  originally 
proposed,  even  though  it  be  to  introduce  some  new  and 
beautiful  plant  not  known  to  the  artist.  Only  a  few  of 
these  changes  are  required  to  alter  conspicuously  the 
original  idea,  and  possibly  to  destroy  forever  the  unity 
of  its  expression. 

Even  in  the  smallest  compositions,  such  as  the 
j^ianting  of  a  town  lot  or  the  ornamentation  of  a  cem- 
etery block,  a  definite  and  explicit  plan  should  be  decided 
upon  at  the  outset ;  it  should  be  reduced  in  full  to 
paper,  and  should  ever  after  be  unswervingly  followed. 

There  are  two  great  styles  of  landscape  gardening, — 
the  natural  and  the  architectural.  The  former  is  some- 
times called  the  English  style,  from  the  circumstance 
that  it  received  its  first  great  development  at  the  hands 
of  the  English  gardeners  ;  and  the  latter  is  often  known 
as  the  Italian  style,  from  having  been  brought  to  a  high 
degree  of  perfection  by  Italian  artists.  It  is  quite  possi- 
ble to  conceive  of  other  legitimate  styles,  and  room  is 
accordingly  made  for  a  method  of  treatment  not  seldom 
employed,  called  here  the  picturesque  style.  This  is 
neither  '' natural,"  in  the  sense  of  belonging  to  the  Eng- 
lish school,  nor  in  the  least  architectural.  It  is  not 
commonly  spoken  of  as  a  distinct  style ;  yet  it  seems 
better  to  treat  it  here  as  such,  and  to  point  out  that 
there  may  be  other  distinctive  styles  adopted  in  special 


14  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

cases,  though  none  has  yet  become  sufficiently  promi- 
nent to  be  named  and  classified. 

These  several  styles  are,  to  a  great  degree,  mutually 
exclusive.  It  is  not  simply  that  a  landscape  gardener  is 
likely  to  be  a  partisan  of  one  of  the  great  schools, — 
though  that  is  true, — but  the  different  styles,  especially 
the  natural  and  the  architectural,  are  utterly  diverse  in 
their  objects  and  their  methods,  so  that  when  brought 
together  they  produce  nothing  but  discord.  "Within 
wide  space  limits  two  styles  may  be  used,  but  it  requires 
a  master  hand  to  effect  a  coherence  along  the  line  of 
junction.  Those  who  renieml)er  the  Wooded  Island  and 
the  Court  of  Honor  in  the  World's  Fair  grounds  at  Chi- 
cago, have  in  mind  an  excellent  illustration  of  this. 
Even  here  the  English  was  not  mixed  with  the  Italian 
style ;  but  the  two  were  separated  as  widely  as  the  room 
permitted.  One  has  only  to  imagine  the  architectonic 
and  sculpturesque  features  of  the  Court  transferred  to 
the  midst  of  the  Island  to  feel  at  once  what  a  raging 
discord  would  have  resulted.  In  the  broadest  terms, 
then,  it  is  correct  to  prescribe  that  some  one  style  must 
be  chosen  and  consistently  followed  throughout  the 
development  of  any  landscape  plan.  This  is  the  first 
step  toward  securing  unity. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   N'ATURAL   STYLE. 

In  the  English  landscape  garden  one  sees  and  feels  every- 
where  the  spirit  of  nature,  only  softened  and  refined  by  art. 
In  the  French  or  Italian  garden  one  sees  and  feels  only  the 
effect  of  art,  slightly  assisted  by  nature.      A.  J.  Downing. 

The  natural  st^le  is  unquestionably  the  favorite  in 
England  and  America,  and  probably  only  less  so  in 
France  and  Germany.  This  means  not  alone  that  the 
landscape  gardeners  of  these  countries  practice  it  in 
preference  to  other  styles,  but  also  that  the  laity,  com- 
posed of  people  who  only  feel  and  do  not  think,  have  a 
profound  bias  toward  the  natural  style.  To  be  sure, 
these  people  admire  pattern  beds  in  the  parks,  and  they 
put  into  their  own  dooryards  the  most  distastefully 
unnatural  objects  conceivable  ;  but  this  is  due  to  their 
ignorance  of  the  value  of  unity  and  their  pure  inability 
to  grasp  the  real  motive  of  a  harmonious  composition. 
In  general  they  have  a  much  greater,  though  unthinking, 
attachment  to  noble  trees,  pretty  shrubberies,  green 
lawns  and  cool  shadows,  or  to  a  pleasant  combination  of 
all  these  elements. 

GAINING     NATURALNESS. 

A  few  simple  rules  will  help  to  gain  this  natural- 
ness, which  is  lost  oftener  by  thoughtlessness  than  by 
intention.  Perhaps  it  is  not  strictly  correct  to  say  that 
naturalness  is  gained.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  when  a 
house  is  built  or  a  park  laid  out  naturalness  is  lost  to 
some  extent.  But  by  thoughtful  work  we  may  subtract 
greatly  from  the  artificiality  of  the  construction,  and  in 
that  sense  it  is  true  that  naturalness  is  gained. 

15 


16 


lAiJDSCAPE   GAUDE^^'lAv^, 


THE  NATURAL  STYLE.  17 

Open  lawns  are  the  natural  foundation  of  a  natural 
landscape.  They  should  be  as  large  and  as  little  inter- 
rupted as  circumstances  will  allow.  Speaking  in  a  very 
general  way,  and  with  room  for  exceptions,  it  is  good 
practice  to  devote  all  the  center  and  interior  of  any  land- 
scape piece  to  open  lawn.  The  plantings  of  trees  and 
shrubs  should,  in  a  general  way,  be  confined  to  the 
boundaries.  Buildings  should  be  located  toward  one 
side.  And  most  certainly  should  the  drives  and  walks 
never  cut  through  the  middle  of  the  grounds  if  a  natural, 
rural  effect  is  to  be  preserved.  These  lawns  may  be  kept 
clipped,  or  the  grass  may  be  allowed  to  grow  at  its  own 
will;  but  clipped  lawns  have  a  distinct  suggestion  of 
artificiality,  and  the  clipping  should  be  confined  to  the 
vicinity  of  buildings  or  other  positions  where  smooth 
surfaces  and  straight  lines  are  already  in  evidence.  The 
unmowed  lawn  is  suitable  for  larger  pieces  and  for  more 
emphatically  natural  surroundings.  The  lawn  should 
cover  a  comparatively  large  area.  One  would  not  want 
the  furniture  in  the  parlor  to  take  up  three-fourtiis  of 
the  room  ;  much  less  would  one  want  the  green  carpet 
of  the  lawn  nearly  covered  with  such  furniture  as  trees 
and  flower  beds. 

Curved  lines  are  usually  natural,  but  not  necessarily 
so.  They  may  be  grotesque  and  artificial  to  almost  any 
degree,  but  it  requires  an  effort  to  make  them  so. 
Straight  lines  are  specifically  unnatural.  Nature  works 
only  in  curves.  The  planets  move  in  curves,  the  small- 
est leaflet  is  bounded  by  curves,  and  your  sweetheart's 
t'dci  has  not  the  faintest  suggestion  of  a  straight  line. 
Vou  will  with  great  difficulty  find  a  straight  line  in 
nature.  Inasmuch  as  the  grounds  on  which  the  land- 
scape gardener  works  often  exist  chiefly  for  some  utili- 
tarian purpose,  many  strictly  non-natural  features  must 
be  introduced,  and  in  many  cases  the  naturalness  of  the 
curved  line  must  be  abandoned  for  the  usefulness  of  the 


18 


LANDSCAPE   GARDEiflNG. 


straiglit.  This  is  sometimes  true  of  walks  and  drives, 
which  are  usually  the  most  conspicuous  lines  on  the 
grounds;  3'et  the  general  rule  must  still  be  adhered  to, — 
that  the  drives  and  walks  should  be  curved  unless  there 
is  some  good  reason  to  the  contrary. 

But  it  is  not  enough  that  the  drives  should  be 
curved.  There  are  good  curves  and  bad  ones,  and  if  a 
curve  is  to  be  used  more  thought  and  skill  are  required 
to  save  it  from  defect  than  though  a  straight  line  had 
been  chosen  instead.     In  an  earlier  day  the  imitators  of 


FIG.  4.     WHERE    SHRUBS  ARE  NEEDED. 

the  English  style, — not  the  legitimate  practitioners, — in 
tlieir  enthusiasm  for  curved  lines  laid  many  which  were 
unpleasing  to  the  last  degree.  The  unmethodical,  sense- 
less, meandering,  serpentine  walks  which  one  still  sees 
sometimes  are  not  natnral,  nor  are  tliey  artistic  in  any 
sense.  It  is  commonly  said  lliat  every  curve  in  a  drive 
or  a  walk  should  have  an  apparent  justification.  Tims, 
if  a  considerable  hill  or  a  group  of  trees  lies  within  tlie 
bend  it  seems  to  furnish  an  adequate  excuse  for  the 
curve.     Objects  which  are  not  manifestly  of  sufficient 


THE  NATURAL  STYLE. 


19 


importance  to  demand  a  turn  in  the  drive  arc  palpably 
artificial  and  worse  than  useless.  Thus,  a  flower  bed  in 
the  curve  of  a  drive  fills  the  wayfa^'er  with  nothing  but 
disgust;  for  he  sees  that  it  might  just  as  well  have  been 
put  somewhere  else  and  his  way  shortened  by  straighten- 
ing out  the  motiveless  digression.  For  any  moderate 
distance  a  double  curve,  passing  first  to  one  side  and 
then  to  the  other  of  a  straight  line,  will  be  often  useful. 
While  it  departs  least  from  the  straight  line,  it  gives  the 
most  constant  change  of  direction.     It  also  presents  a 


FIG.  5.  WHERE  SHRUBS  ARE  ADDED.  COMPARE  WITH  FIG.  4. 


greater  variety  of  views.  It  is  essentially  the  'Mine  of 
beauty."  Yet  it  would  never  do  to  repeat  this  form  of 
curve  unvaryingly.  Other  combinations  must  suggest 
themselves  to  the  designer  who  has  any  feeling  for 
outline. 

Grouped  trees  give  an  appearance  of  naturalness 
because,  in  nature,  trees  are  almost  always  grouped.  At 
any  rate,  they  are  never  set  in  rows!  A  good,  strong 
oak  grows  up, — a  patriarch  of  the  forest.     There  soon 


20  LANDSCAPE  GARDEN^ING. 

appears,  under  the  shelter  of  its  spreading  branches,  a 
younger  generation  like  unto  the  parent,  and  so  we  have 
a  group  of  oaks.  A  group  of  walnuts  arises  likewise  in 
another  place ;  and  even  such  trees  as  the  willows  and 
poplars,  which  distribute  seeds  far  and  wide,  are  found 
growing  grouped  together  where  the  environments  are 
specially  suited  to  their  develoimient.  It  ought  not  to 
be  necessary  to  argue  that  this  is  the  only  natural  way 
of  placing  trees  and  shrubs ;  yet  this  most  obvious  of  all 
rules  is  most  commonly  disregarded. 

Shrubs  are  seldom  used  too  much,  and  they  are  fre- 
quently neglected.  AYithout  stopping  to  call  attention 
to  tlie  wonderful  diversity  of  riches  from  which  we  may 
select  when  we  wish  to  employ  shrubs,  we  desire  now 
only  to  point  out  that  their  liberal  use  is  in  accord  with 
the  natural  style  which  we  are  seeking  to  develop. 
Referring  again  to  natui-e,  we  find  shrubs  distributed  all 
about  her  woodland,  and  especially  along  the  borders  of 
her  woods.  Since  at  best  we  seldom  have  more  than  a 
woodland  border  in  our  own  compositions,  its  embellish- 
ment with  shrubs  becomes  an  oft-recurrent  problem.  A 
judicious  arrangement  of  shrubbery  will  often  obliterate 
more  of  the  unpleasant,  unnatural  and  inartistic  features 
of  the  grounds  than  any  amount  of  other  material  or 
other  work.  Shrubs  may  be  used  in  comparative  profu- 
sion, because  they  take  up  but  little  room.  A  good 
view  of  some  things  cnn  be  obtained  over  the  tops  of  low 
shrubs,  and  they  can  thus  be  given  positions  quite 
forbidden  to  trees. 

The  nnion  of  the  buildings  with  the  grounds,  so 
that  the  former  seem  parts  of  the  latter,  is  also  oftenest 
effected  by  the  use  of  shrubs.  A  building  with  its 
smooth  surfaces  and  rectangular  lines  arising  abruptly 
out  of  the  lawn  gives  a  distinct  note  of  disharmony. 
The  remedy  is  to  break  up,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
obliterate  the  line  of  demarcation.     Shrubs  irregularly 


THE  NATURAL  STYLE.  21 

gronped  along  the  walls  and  massed  in  retreating  angles 
help  to  do  this.  Their  most  efficient  assistants  are  the 
climbers,  which  may  cling  to  the  walls  or  twine  about 
the  porches,  becoming  almost  part  and  parcel  of  the 
building.  Shrubs  and  climbers  together,  judiciously 
l^laced,  will  often  bring  into  the  closest  harmony  a  house 
and  grounds  which  without  them  would  have  been  at 
never-ending  war  with  one  another. 

LOSING   NATURALi5"ESS. 

It  is  not  a  very  logical  arrangement  of  the  subject 
which  classifies  tonnes  under  these  two  exactly  opposite 
heads, — gaining  naturalness  and  losing  naturalness. 
And  yet  it  has  the  advantage  of  convenience.  For  it  is 
convenient  to  consider  some  things  as  excellencies  and 
some  others  as  faults,  some  as  commissions  and  some  as 
omissions,  some  positively  and  others  negatively ;  and  it 
may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  certain  very  important 
matters  from  both  sides. 

Thus,  of  the  prominent  lines  of  the  ideal  landscape 
we  have  said  that,  other  things  permitting,  they  should 
be  curved ;  and  yet  there  is  no  redundancy  in  saying 
here  that  they  should  not  be  straight.  The  doctrine  is 
of  sufficient  importance  to  merit  a  second  mention.  In 
reality  it  is  often  disregarded,  to  the  great  detriment  of 
gardens,  public  squares  and  house  grounds.  Yet  others 
make  a  mistake  by  accepting  it  too  exclusively,  and  lay- 
ing curves  where  there  is  no  room  for  them  and  sending 
the  wayfarer  a  long  journey  for  which  he  has  neither 
heart  nor  time.  Straight  lines  must  sometimes  be  used, 
but  the  gardener  must  then  content  himself  that  natur- 
alness is  lost. 

Artificial  constructions,  in  the  sense  here  used,  is 
meant  to  cover  a  multitude  of  whims  and  fancies  which 
small  gardeners — and  some  of  higher  rating — are  always 
introducing  in  their  choicest  and  most  conspicuous 
places.     Frequently  these  are  of  the  most  puerile  order; 


LAlifDSCAPE  GAilDENIl^aw 


THE  NATURAL  STYLE.  23 

sometimes  they  are  very  disgusting.  As  instances  come 
under  my  own  observation,  I  may  mention  a  lawn  rase 
made  of  an  old  stove  painted  red;  a  big  rat-traj)  trellis 
with  no  honeysuckles  to  grow  on  it;  a  pile  of  oyster 
shells  supporting  a  plant  tub  on  the  green  lawn  ;  and 
small  flower  beds  edged  with  inverted  beer  bottles. 

One  of  the  most  generally  distributed  mistakes  of 
this  sort  is  the  conventional  rockery.  There  is  not 
space  here  to  exj^lain  how  to  make  a  good  rockery;  but 
the  general  i^rinciple  needs  most  to  be  emphasized,  that 
nothing  will  save  a  rockery  from  condemnation  unless  it 
appears  natural  to  its  surroundings.  It  may  be  added 
that  the  proper  surroundings  are  not  easily  secured ; 
and  that  the  small,  flat  front  yard  of  a  city  lot  can 
never  furnish  the  associations  to  justify  a  rockery. 
When  a  heap  of  stones  is  placed  carefully  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  hand's-breadth  of  clipped  lawn  it  must  be 
evident  to  the  most  sightless  observer  that  naturalness 
is  lost. 

Another  affair  much  affected  in  some  places  is  the 
little  trellis  placed  on  the  lawn  for  the  exhibition  of 
climbing  j^lants.  This  gives  always  a  note  of  discord 
amidst  natural  or  semi-natural  elements,  and  it  is  very 
doubtful  if  such  a  trellis  could  be  made  agreeable  in  any 
method  of  gardening.  Climbers  on  the  porches  and 
walls  or  on  old  tree  trunks,  or  clambering  wildly  over 
the  tops  of  bushes,  give  a  more  efficient  expression  of  nat- 
uralness than  almost  any  other  material  at  the  command 
of  the  horticulturist ;  and  it  is  perhaps  because  of  this 
that  they  break  so  forcibly  upon  the  rurality  of  the 
scene  when  treated  so  thoughtlessly. 

The  summer  house,  which  may  also  be  one  of  the 
choicest  charms  of  certain  grounds,  sometimes  appears 
as  a  very  monster  of  ugliness.  A  long  chapter  might 
be  written  here,  also,  detailing  what  is  good  and  what 
bad  in  the  way  of  summer  houses,  rustic  arbors  and 


24  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

shady  garden  seats,  but  it  answers  better  our  jiassing 
purpose  to  observe  that  these  are  points  at  which  natur- 
alness is  often  lost,  and  w'hich,  therefore,  require  careful 
treatment  and  thoughtful  good  taste  to  adapt  them  quite 
to  the  best  interests  of  a  whole,  natural  composition. 

Bad  fences  are  worthy  of  separate  mention.  And 
the  first  thing  to  be  said  is  tliat  practically  all  fences  are 
bad,  considered  merely  as  items  in  an  art  composition  on 
the  natural  jilan.  Yet  there  are  w^onderful  degrees  of 
badness  among  fences.  Good,  well  kept  horticultural 
hedges  of  privets,  roses,  spiraeas,  diervillas,  arbor  vitses, 
and  other  plants  suitable  for  the  special  purposes  in 
view%  are  at  least  bearable,  and  are  sometimes  distinctly 
satisfactor}^  A  hedge  may  be  continuous  and  yet  irreg- 
ular, broadening  in  one  place,  bending  in  another,  and 
further  along  merging  into  a  larger  group  of  trees  and 
shrubs.  In  this  way  it  may  serve  the  purposes  of  a 
fence  witliout  marring  the  naturalness  sought.  But 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  picket  and  great  board 
fences  which  embrace  so  many  otherwise  decent  private 
and  public  plots  ?  What  shall  we  say  to  this  frenzy  of 
iron  work  which  stands  between  us  and  the  grounds  we 
would  so  gladly  admire  ?  Plainly  naturalness  is  lost, — 
utterly  and  irrecoverably  lost.  These  fences  serve  a 
purpose.  They  answer  to  a  want  keen  and  urgent  in 
the  ordinary  home-owner's  heart ;  that  is,  to  the  desire 
for  seclusion  and  privacy  and  the  unmolested  and  unob- 
served enjoyment  of  the  owner's  home  surroundings. 
This  seclusion  is  worth  striving  for  in  the  garden  plan; 
but  if  naturalness  is  desired,  some  other  expedient  ought 
to  be  worked  out  compatible  alike  v/ith  naturalness  and 
seclusiveness.  It  has  sometimes  been  thought  worth 
while  to  sink  the  fences  in  deep  ditches,  the  banks  of 
which  were  given  special  treatment  to  conceal  the  whole; 
but  this  means  will  not  commend  itself  to  many  opera- 
tors ;  neither  is  it  adapted  to  many  cases. 

Library 


THE  NATURAL  STYLE.  25 

"White  Surfaces. — Pure  white  is  not  a  color  com- 
mon in  nature,  and  the  dazzling  reflection  from  extended 
white  surfaces  reveals  an  artificiality  wiiich  is  glaring  in 
a  double  sense.  Those  w^lio,  amid  the  shining  buildings 
of  the  "White  City"  at  Chicago,  suffered  from  head- 
ache from  day  to  day,  had  demonstrated  to  them  in  a 
very  telling  way  the  unnaturalness  of  white  surfaces. 
This  is  not  meant  to  condemn  the  st3^1e  so  freely  ado2:)ted 
at  the  World's  Fair.  The  white  buildings  certainly 
gave  a  striking  and  in  many  Avays  an  enjoyable  effect. 
Yet  there  w^re  some  things  to  be  said  against  them. 
On  a  small  scale,  with  buildings  of  more  trivial  archi- 
tecture, white  painting  is  seldom  admissible  among 
plantings  of  a  naturalistic  accent.  Yet  note  how  often 
we  are  compelled  to  look  at  white  houses,  especially 
among  farmhouses,  where  the  exclusively  and  perhaps 
beautifully  rural  landscape  is  least  prepared  to  receive 
them.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  white  surfaces  and  natural 
effects  are  always  incongruous. 

Badly  Treated  Plants. — There  are  many  unnat- 
ural methods  of  plant  training  in  vogue ;  and  it  goes 
without  sajdng  that  they  are  inconsistent  with  the  Eng- 
lish style.  Yet  we  constantly  find  them  intermingled 
with  purely  natural  objects,  much  to  the  detriment  of 
both.  The  junipers,  boxes,  arbor  vitaes  and  similar 
plants  trimmed  into  smooth  cones,  vases,  globes  and 
more  complex  combinations,  illustrate  this  inethod. 
Weeping  tops  grafted  on  straight,  upright  trunks  belong 
to  the  same  class.  Others  might  be  mentioned,  some 
good  and  some  bad  in  themselves,  but  all  agreeing  in 
the  certainty  with  which  they  spoil  the  unity  of  any 
place  in  which  informal  treatment  is  essayed. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   ARCHITECTURAL  STYLE. 

The  evident  liarmony  of  arrangement  between  the  lionse 
and  surrounding  hmdscape  is  what  first  strikes  one  in  Ital- 
ian landscape  architecture,— 1  lie  desi<;ii  as  a  whole,  including 
gardens,  terraces,  groves,  and  their  necessary  siu-roundiugs 
and  embellislinients,  it  being  clear  that  no  one  of  these  com- 
ponent parts  was  ever  considered  independently,  the  archi- 
tect of  the  house  being  also  the  architect  of  the  garden  and 
the  rest  of  tlie  villa.  Charles  A.  Piatt. 

A  number  of  terms,  all  equally  clear  and  useful, 
have  been  used  for  this  well-defined  style  of  gardening. 
We  need  to  notice  three, — architectural,  geometrical 
and  Italian.  Of  these  the  first  is  best  for  onr  purposes, 
especially  if  architecture  is  understood  in  the  broadest 
sense  to  include  all  the  exterior  accessories  of  buildings, 
to  whicli  the  work  of  the  architect  may  rightfully  extend. 
Columns,  obelisks,  arches,  fountains,  statues  and  groups 
of  statuary,  and  all  similar  structures  whatsoever,  are  in 
this  sense  included  within  the  common  range  of  archi- 
tecture and  architectural  gai'dening.  Indeed,  the  earli- 
est and  some  of  the  best  examples  of  this  style  which  we 
have  were  planned  and  executed  by  professional  archi- 
tects,— men  who  did  not  claim  to  be  gardeners  at  all. 
The  term  '^ geometrical"  has  its  obvious  signification. 
It  is  perfectly  legitimate,  and  in  many  places  highly 
serviceable.  This  method  is  also  widely  and  properly 
known  as  the  Italian  style,  having  received  its  best  devel- 
opment in  Italy. 

The  architectural  style  is  diametrically  opposed  at 
all  points  to  the  extreme  natural  style.  It  is  opposite  in 
methods  and  in  effects  ;  though  this  is  no  reason  why  a 
person  of  artistic  taste  may  not  find  full  satisfaction  in 

26 


THE  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLE.  27 

either.  The  most  modern  tendency  is  to  admit  the 
architectural,  the  natural  and  all  other  possible  styles  of 
gardening,  to  equal  consideration ;  to  recognize  that 
each  may  claim  greatest  advantages  in  special  situations  ; 
and  to  choose  from  among  different  styles,  in  a  frame  of 
mind  quite  free  from  prejudice,  the  one  best  suited  to 
any  given  circumstances  of  environment  and  demand. 
The  time  was, — and  recently,  —  when  English  and 
American  gardeners  were  very  much  prejudiced  against 
geometrical  methods  of  all  sorts.  As  a  result,  their 
attempted  naturalistic  effects  were  forced  into  situations 
where  grievous  failure  alone  could  meet  them,  but  where 
a  less  partisan  good  taste  would  have  wrought  beautiful 
and  satisfying  results  through  the  discredited  methods. 
One  of  the  most  renowned  specimens  of  the  Italian  style 
is  shown  in  Fig.  7. 

Two  things  especially  have  contributea  m  recent 
years  to  an  honest  appreciation  in  America  of  the  claims 
of  the  architectural  st^yle.  One  is  the  favorable  attitude 
of  discriminating  praise  on  the  jxirt  of  almost  all  Amer- 
ican writers,  more  emi^hatically  presented  in  Mr.  Charles 
A.  Piatt's  book,  '^Italian  Gardens."  The  second  cause 
is  the  satisfaction  and  delight  felt  by  all  in  the  wonder- 
ful architectonic  outdoor  effects  realized  at  the  AYorld's 
Fair.  It  is  not  so  much  that  the  gardening  architecture 
of  the  World's  Fair  was  so  much  grander  in  size,  extent 
and  artistic  conception  than  anything  we  had  previ- 
ously had  on  this  continent,  as  it  is  that  it  was  seen  by 
so  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  from  all  parts 
of  America,  to  most  of  whom  this  architectural  glory 
came  as  a  revelation. 

Before  beginning  to  j^oint  out  the  specific  contriv- 
ances by  which  the  perfection  of  the  architectural  style 
is  sought,  it  will  be  best  to  consider  its  broader  relations, 
conditions  and  limitations.  The  architectural  garden 
is,  iu  a  very  proper  sense,  an  extension, — a  development 


US 


LAUDSCAPB  GAfiDEiJLNG. 


THE  ARCHITECTURAL   STYLE.  29 

of  the  building  or  buildings  in  contiguity.  A  dwelling 
house  must  have  i:)orclies,  promenades,  provision  for  the 
exercise,  rest  or  enjoyment  of  its  inhabitants  in  the  open 
air,  with  more  or  less  protection  under  foot  and  over- 
head. A  public  building  must  have  its  colonnades,  log- 
gias and  approaches.  These  may  extend  indefinitely 
away  from  the  proper  walls  of  the  building  and  into  the 
area  of  the  garden.  It  is  necessary  only  to  kee})  up  a 
close  and  obvious  connection  between  the  entrance  steps, 
the  walks  of  stone  or  marble  flagging,  tlie  resting  seats 
of  bewn  stone,  the  fountains,  the  statuary  and  the  stone 
boundary  walls,  to  see  how  comjiletely  the  main  edifice 
may  extend  quite  to  the  boundary  of  the  grounds. 

Looking  at  it  in  this  light  it  is  manifest  that  the 
surrounding  grounds,  developed  from  the  central  build- 
ing, are  accessory  and  subordinate  to  it.  Tbey  serve  as 
an  appropriate  frame  in  which  to  exhibit  the  beauty  of 
the  building.  They  do  not  attempt  to  hide  the  main 
work  of  architecture,  nor  to  draw  attention  away  from 
it,  but  to  point  out  and  empbasize  its  beauties.  It 
would  be  well  if  this  point  were  borne  in  mind  by  land- 
scape gardeners  in  general ;  for  there  are  many  cases  in 
which  the  buildings  are  of  supreme  interest,  and  any 
gardening  which  oi^enly  competes  with  them  for  public 
attention  and  admiration  is  pronouncedly  intolerable. 
It  is  doubtful  if  any  naturalistic  effects  should  ever  be 
attempted  in  such  cases.  It  can  be  fairly  said  that  the 
possibilities  of  developing  such  places  after  the  Italian 
methods  are  seldom  realized  in  this  country ;  for  while 
we  have  a  great  deal  of  painfully  unnatural  gardening, 
we  have  wofully  little  creditable  architectural  adornment 
outside  the  paint  which  covers  our  houses. 

The  principle  of  choice  between  the  two  great  styles 
has  already  been  pointed  out.  In  situations  where  the 
buildings  are  necessarily  pi-edominant,  the  architectural 
style^  is  more  easy  of  application,  while  in  those  cases 


30 


LANDSCAPE  GAKDEiJ LCTQ, 


THE   ARCHITECTURAL    STYLE.  31 

where  the  grounds  are  naturally  of  cliief  importance, 
they  respond  most  readily  and  satisfactorily  to  the  nat- 
ural style  of  development.  This  rule  may  not  he  proof 
against  exceptions,  but  it  is  safe. 

One  word  more  needs  to  he  said.  A  compromise  or 
comhination  of  the  two  styles — the  natural  and  the 
architectural — is  utterly  irrational  and  impossible.  Cer- 
tain concessions  to  architecture  are  always  necessary  in 
natural  gardening,  even  in  Yellowstone  National  Park, 
but  they  must  always  be  looked  upon  as  detracting  from 
the  ideal,  and  their  thoughtless  introduction  or  unskill- 
ful treatment  may  quickly  damage  the  naturalistic  land- 
scape beyond  repair.  And  so  must  flowers,  foliage  and 
trees  be  brought  into  the  architectural  garden,  but  they 
must,  by  heroic  efforts,  be  subordinated  to  the  geomet- 
rical outlines  of  the  main  features. 

Geometrical  lines,  always  to  be  avoided  in  natural- 
istic gardening,  are  to  be  conservatively  sought  in  work- 
ing out  the  architectural  ideal.  Flower  beds,  borders, 
drives,  walks,  and  all  other  similar  elements  of  the  land- 
scape, which  in  naturalistic  compositions  would  prefer- 
ably be  expressed  in  flowing  curves,  will  in  this  style  be 
set  in  straight  lines  and  geometrical  curves.  There  are 
pleasing  geometrical  lines,  and  un])leasing  ones.  More 
truly  are  there  good  combinations  of  geometrical  lines, 
and  bad  ones.  To  discriminate  between  the  good  and 
the  bad  requires  the  same  taste  that  is  needed  to  criti- 
cise any  other  art  object.  To  originate  a  good  one  in 
the  imagination  and  successfully  to  transfer  it  to  the 
garden,  requires  the  mind  and  the  education  of  an  artist. 

The  amateur  may  remember  that  these  three  tests 
can  safely  be  applied  to  his  geometrical  tracings  :  Sim- 
plicity, boldness,  grace.  Simplicity  is  of  supreme 
importance.  Intricate  or  complex  geometrical  designs, 
which  do  not  appear  at  once  clear  and  reasonable,  even 
at  the  first  careless,  inattentive  glance,  are  curiosities  fit 


32  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

for  intellectual  study,  and  not  elements  of  a  picture  for 
tlie  delight  of  the  more  subtle  aesthetic  faculties.  They 
mioht  serve  a  purpose  in  a  museum.  In  a  garden  they 
have  uo  place.  This  is  esj)ecially  to  be  insisted  on  at 
this  jioint,  for  the  novice  can  easily  combine  geometrical 
forms;  hut  doing  so  without  training  and  without  sym- 
pathy, his  work  is  at  best  grotescjne,  and  quite  apt  to  be 
silly.  This  same  lack  of  feeling  for  dignity  of  outline 
results  in  tameness,  weakness,  puerility,  in  place  of  that 
quality  which  we  have  designated  as  boldness.  We 
might  have  called  this  quality  dignity ;  but  dignity  is 
both  simple  and  bold.  Now  if  simplicity  and  boldness 
alone  were  demanded  of  geometrical  lines,  perfection 
would  be  within  easy  reach.  One  would  have  only  to 
confine  himself  to  rectangular  combinations  to  achieve 
both.  But  some  more  graceful  outlines  are  desired  by 
the  eye,  and  to  their  invention  the  designer  may  Avell 
give  earnest  study.  No  definition  of  grace,  in  this 
sense,  can  be  put  in  words,  much  less  any  directions  by 
which  its  realization  may  be  effectually  secured. 

The  lawn  has  already  been  referred  to  as  being  in  a 
double  sense  the  ground  w^ork  of  the  garden  picture. 
The  close  shaven  lawn  is  the  very  life  of  the  architec- 
tural gardeiT.  Often  it  is  all  the  garden  there  is  to  the 
composition.  If  a  city  residence  crowds  upon  a  busy 
street,  trees,  shrubs  and  flowers  are  all  impracticable; 
but  the  little  strip  of  close  cut  grass  between  is  clean, 
cool  and  comfortable.  A  court  yard  may  be  chiefly  con- 
cerned with  a  fountain,  stone  flagging  and  heavy 
benches  ;  but  there  may  be  some  little  patches  of  clipped 
grass  in  between,  and  these  will  be  like  the  carpets 
within  the  building.  The  uncut  lawn  with  grass  run- 
ning riot  is  so  evidently  out  of  unity  with  all  architec- 
tonic features  as  to  need  no  remark. 

Trees  set  in  row^s  may  or  may  not  add  to  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  Italian  style.     If  trees  are  to  be  used  in  any 


THE  ARCHITECTUllAL  STYLE. 


33 


O  h^ 

s  o 

&  • 

O 

Z  '^ 

S  a 


8 


34  LANDSCAPE   GARDEKIKG. 

moderate  number  they  should  usually  stand  in  rows; 
and  if  they  approach  closely  to  some  extended  geomet- 
rical line  they  should  always  be  placed  jmrallel  to  it. 
This  applies  to  those  infrequent  instances  in  which  a 
row  of  trees  will  api)ear  next  the  long  face  of  a  building, 
and  to  the  more  common  cases  in  which  they  "will  follow 
a  drive  or  walk.  It  is  quite  the  delight  of  the  landscape 
architect  to  form  long  avenues  of  stately  trees  ;  and  how 
successful  such  leafy  avenues  luiA'e  been  in  satisf}ing  the 
longings  of  men's  hearts  one  need  only  consult  the  his- 
torian, the  story  writer  and  the  poet  to  learn. 

Street  planting  should  be  referred,  for  discussion,  to 
this  place  in  our  outlme ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  such  gen- 
eral importance,  and  yet  one  in  which  such  a  surprising 
amount  of  bad  taste  is  displayed,  that  we  may  give  it  a 
proportionally  large  amount  of  our  attention.  The 
street,  then,  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  geometrical  figure, 
and  is  to  be  consistently  treated  as  such.  This  requires- 
three  things.  First,  the  rows  should  be  parallel  with 
the  street.  Second,  the  trees  should  be  set  at  uniform 
distances.  Tliird,  the  individual  trees  should  be  just  as 
nearly  uniform  in  all  respects  as  it  is  possible  to  make 
them.  The  first  two  considerations  are  sufficiently  obyi- 
ous.  The  third  rule  is  constantly  violated.  It  is  not  at 
all  uncommon  to  find  two  or  more  distinct  species  mixed 
together  in  the  same  row.  The  writer  remembers  to 
have  seen  nine  different  species  in  a  single  row  running 
only  half  the  length  of  a  city  block.  This  row  was  i)ur- 
posely  set  in  such  an  order  by  the  enthusiastic  owner  of 
the  jiroperty.  The  man  might  consistently  have  sewed 
nine  monstrously  different  buttons  in  a  row  down  the 
front  of  his  Prince  Albert  coat.  Great  effort  should 
further  be  made  to  have  all  the  trees  in  any  given  row 
of  the  same  size  and  form.  If  in  the  first  planting  of  a 
street  only  a  part  of  the  trees  grow,  no  time  or  pains 
can  be  spared  quickly  to  fill  the  vacancies.     And  during 


THE  ARCHITECTURAL   STYLE.  35 

the  early  development  of  the  row  attention  should  be 
given  to  favor  the  slow  growing  specimens  and  to  check 
the  strong.  After  a  row  of  trees  of  a  single  species  is 
well  started,  a  satisfactory  uniformity  will  usually  result 
without  further  special  attention.  It  is,  of  course,  not 
desirable  to  try  to  make  each  elm  tree  along  an  avenue 
the  exact  counterpart  of  some  model;*  but  with  trees 
of  more  precise  forms  even  this  effort  is  worth  while. 
There  are  some  species  of  trees  having  forms  almost 
architectural  in  themselves,  such  as  the  Lombardy  pop- 
lar ;  and  for  purely  ornamental  purposes  such  trees  may 
be  used  with  marked  success  along  avenues.  Other 
trees,  as  arbor  vitaes,  which  can  be  clipped  into  distinctly 
geometrical  forms,  might  undoubtedly  be  used  with 
abundant  satisfaction  in  certain  cases  for  the  same 
purposes. 

Clipped  trees  and  shrubs  are  frequently  seen  in  the 
little  gardens  about  our  city  and  country  residences. 
But  among  the  numerous  specimens  of  this  sort  which 
one  finds,  it  is  hard  indeed  to  find  one  which  really  adds 
some  value  to  the  scene.  They  are  usually  mere  freaks 
of  the  gardeners'  imagination.  They  should  be  severely 
discouraged.  But  in  a  consistently  developed  Italian 
garden,  judiciously  placed  among  harmonious  surround- 
ings, these  clipped  plants  may  become  beautiful  and 
dignified.  The  clipped  hedges  of  the  Italian  villas  are  a 
most  delightful  part  of  the  compositions.  In  some  of 
these,  sculptured  columns  are  set  at  regular  distances, 
fitting  snugly  into  the  mass  of  the  hedge  plants;  and 
thus  the  architectural  effect  is  accented  and  improved. 

Topiary  work  was  extremely  fashionable  among  the 
gardeners  of  England  and  the  continent  in  the  years  pre- 

*  Special  effort  is  required,  however,  to  make  a  good  avenue  of 
elms.  The  diversities  of  form  are  often  so  serious  as  to  detract  mate- 
rially from  tlie  beauty  of  tlie  row.  This  difficulty  may  be  overcome, 
When  the  work  is  of  sufficient  importance,  by  planting  well  selected 
graftea  trees.    See  also  Chapter  X,  Part  III. 


36  LANDSCAPE  GAEDENING. 

ceding  the  development  of  the  natnral  style.  It  was 
more  nscd  there  than  in  Italy,  and  without  the  related 
features  of  the  Italian  style.  Topiary  work  consists  in 
the  clipping  of  trees  or  shrubs  into  more  elaborate  arclii- 
tectural  or  statuesque  forms,  such  as  to  make  whole 
arbors,  statues,  and  often  ingeniously  grotesque  tigures. 
If  it  is  useful  anywhere  it  may  be  brought  into  the 
architectural  garden  ;  but  its  extravagances  are  always 
unbearable,  and  are  now  haply  out  of  vogue. 

The  introduction  of  stairways,  balustrades,  urns, 
fountains  and  statues  in  a  much-frequented  garden,  sup- 
posing the  articles  to  be  in  themselves  pleasing,  must 
always  be  a  satisfaction  to  the  human  habitues.  The 
eye  delights  in  them  all.  So  that  when  we  have  quite 
laid  aside  the  attempt  to  deceive  the  senses  into  a  feeling 
of  rural  solitude,  and  are  working  along  professedly 
artificial  lines,  nothing  gives  greater  pleasure  than  well- 
executed  and  well  disposed  architectural  and  sculptur- 
esque features.  This  proposition  needs  no  argument  or 
exj)lanation.  It  is  self-evident,  but  none  the  less  preg- 
nant for  its  obviousness. 

The  colors  which  seem  most  in  unison  with  archi- 
tectural gardening  are  the  deep  green  monotones  in  the 
clipped  walls  and  columns.  A  mixture  of  colors  in 
these  would  spoil  forever  their  dignity  and  repose.  A 
spotted  wall  or  a  variegated  C(jlumn  would  be  an  absurd- 
ity. But  sharp  contrasts  are  in  some  places  also  useful, 
as  in  the  practice  of  setting  white  marble  statues  against 
walls  of  the  darkest  green.  For  the  blossoming  plants 
which  are  sometimes  used  in  beds  or  pots,  bright  and 
contrasting  colors  are  to  be  chosen.  This  practice  is 
also  entirely  the  opposite  of  that  employed  in  the  nat- 
ural style,  where  the  most  delicate  gradations  of  greens 
and  grays  are  contrived. 

A  terrace  always  presents  two  or  three  parallel  lines, 
according  to  its  construction.     These  should  be  exactly 


TUB   ArtCLIITECTURAL    STYLR 


37 


a>  ^ 

<t ' 

^  p 

o 

«  3 

CD  :?i 

^  > 


^    7) 

5  • 

S! 
p 


38  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

parallel  and  geometrical  in  outline.  They  are  in  any 
case  purely  formal,  geometrical,  arcliitectural ;  and  they 
fit  easily  into  an  architectural  composition  and  measur- 
ably enhance  its  effect. 

Fountains  are  always  appropriate  to  the  style  of 
gardening  here  under  consideration.  Bat  limited 
stretches  of  still  water,  bound  in  by  stone  steps,  walls  or 
edgings,  also  serve  to  beautify  the  scene  while  still  fur- 
ther hightening  the  effect  which  Ave  are  now  seeking. 
It  may  perhaps  be  permissible  to  refer  again  to  the  Court 
of  Honor  at  the  World's  Fair  in  illustration  of  the  won- 
derful effectiveness  of  water  surfaces  amid  architectural 
surroundings.  The  free  use  of  water  pieces  in  gar- 
dens was  a  chief  tenent  of  the  Moorish,  Persian  and 
Indian  gardeners,  and  may  be  said  to  be  the  principal 
attraction  of  so  much  of  their  work  as  remains  to  the 
present  day. 

Flower  beds  Avere  notable  features  of  the  old  Italian 
villas.  The  typical  disposition  of  them  was  Avithin  an 
enclosure  walled  by  sheared  trees,  as  already  described. 
Within  these  environs  a  large  number  of  small  flower 
beds  Avere  laid  off  in  geometrical  shapes,  edged  Avith  low 
clipped  borders  of  grass  or  shrubs,  and  separated  by 
gi-ayeled  walks.  Both  hardy  perennial  plants  and  flow- 
ering annuals  were  used  in  these  little  plots.  Outside 
these  gardens,  in  any  suitable  jiosition,  flowering  or  foli- 
age plants  may  be  found  in  pots  or  boxes.  These  recep- 
tacles may  be  at  the  successive  posts  of  a  horizontal  bal- 
ustrade ;  they  may  surmount  the  newel  posts  at  the  foot 
of  some  stairs,  or  they  may  flank  a  path-side  garden  seat. 
The  lawn  vases,  such  as  one  sees  quite  too  often  on  nat- 
uralistically  treated  lawns,  may  be  used  in  this  style 
with  greater  freedom. 

Patteni  bedding  should  1)0  mentioned  here  because 
it  does  not  belong  to  the  architectural  ideal,  though 
some  people  may  suppose  that  it  does.     Indeed,  the  pat- 


THE  AKCHITECTURAL   STYLE.  39 

tern  beds  such  as  we  see  so  distastefully  displayed  in  our 
parks,  showing  in  gaudy  colei  and  acalyphas  the  day  of 
the  week,  a  map  of  tlie  United  States  or  an  ugly 
ship  sailing  on  dry  land,— these  things  do  not  belong^o 
any  system  of  landscape  gardening.  :N'either  do  the 
trivial  little  mosaics  of  echeverias  and  geraniums  which 
one  sees  in  private  dooryards.  These  things  belong  in 
the  horticultural  museum,  along  with  other  oddities 
and  monstrosities.  It  is  not  possible  to  speak  of  garden- 
ing as  a  fine  art  until  these  things  are  thoroughly  for- 
saken and  forgotten. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   PICTUKESQUE   STYLE. 

But  regularity  can  never  attain  to  a  great  sliareof  beauty, 
and  to  none  of  the  species  called  picturesque;  a  denomiiui' 
tion  in  general  expressive  of  excellence,  but  which,  by 
being  too  indiscriminately  applied,  may  be  sometimes  pro- 
ductive of  errors.  Thomas  Wheatley. 

Nay,  farther,  we  do  not  scrtiple  to  .assert  that  roughness 
forms  tlie  most  essential  point  of  difference  between  the 
beautiful  and  the  picturesque.  William  Gilpin. 

L'irregularile  est  V  essence  du  pittoresque. 

Edouard  Andr&. 

This  chapter  is  introduced  for  two  purposes  :  First, 
to  treat  of  a  quality  in  hmdscape  composition  which,  if 
carried  out  to  a  considerable  extent,  produces  a  style 
really  different  from  either  of  those  already  treated  ;  and, 
second,  to  represent  any  number  of  additional  styles  of 
landscape  gardening  beyond  the  two  generally  recog- 
nized. There  are  no  common,  well  defined  and  well 
known  styles  except  the  natural  and  the  architectural ; 
but  there  is  no  essential  reason  why  there  should  not  be. 
It  may  even  be  regarded  as  desirable  that  there  shall 
arise  some  school  of  artists  with  sufficient  keenness  of 
invention  and  purity  of  feeling  to  create  some  really  new 
styles  for  us.  At  present  it  conies  best  within  the  range 
of  our  study  to  call  attention  to  the  peculiar  quality  of 
picturesqueness ;  and  to  suggest  that  it  may,  in  some 
situations,  be  emphasized  over  a  considerable  space.  In 
such  a  case  the  picturesque  is  essentially  a  distinct  style. 

There  are  many  plant  forms  which  are  picturesque 
in  themselves,  and  which  may  best  illustrate  the  nature 
of  this  quality  to  anyone  not  clearly  understanding  what 
it  is.  Such  forms  are  those  of  the  gingko  tree.  Table 
Mountain  pine,  Weeping  Norway  spruce,  Weeping  larch, 

40 


THE   PIGTUHESQUE  STYLE. 


41 


Wier's  Cut  Leaved  maple,  the  leafless  Kentucky  coffee 
tree,  and  many  others.  Xo  general  definition  of  pictur- 
esqueness,  as  applied  thus  to  plants,  can  well  be  given 
so  as  to  enable  an  inexperienced  eye  to  select  them  from 
the  arboretum.  But  the  landscape  gardener,  in  whose 
mind  the  ideal  is  clearly  conceived,  will  have  small  dif- 
ficulty in  finding  the  j^lants  suited  to  its  expression. 

A  broken  and  uneven  surface  is  especially  adapted  to 
the  production  of  picturesque  effects.     Indeed,  it  is  not 


FIG.   11.      AVILLIAM  GILPIX'S    IDEA  OF  PICTURESQUENESS. 

From  his  "Forest  Scenery." 

impro2)er,  though  not  strictly  correct  for  all  cases,  to 
designate  the  peculiar  beauties  of  mountain  scenery  as 
picturesqueness.  Mountain  scenery  is  not  commonly 
architectural  in  style ;  neither  does  it  have  the  smooth 
and  flowing  outlines  of  the  English  ideal  garden.  Should 
a  landscape  gardener  some  time  find  himself  with  a 
piece  of  mountain  ground  to  work  upon,  he  would  hardly 


42 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 


be  excusable  should  he  attempt  auy  other  treatment 
than  the  picturesque  effects  usually  found  in  such  places. 
Dark  color  masses  and  monotones  have  often  a 
weird  and  picturesque  suggestion  for  the  sympathetic 
mind.  This  is  even  the  case  when  expressed  in  the  for- 
mal outlines  of  the  architectural  style  j  but  it  is  more 


FIG.  12.     A  PICTURESQUE  TREE.     TABLE  MOUNTAIN  PINE. 

strikingly  true  when  the  dark  monotones  appear  in 
masses  of  black  spruces,  or  similarly  dark  foliaged 
plants.  The  deep,  dark  shadows  of  mountain  sides  add 
noticeably  to  the  effectiveness  of  the  scene,  and  to  the 
quality  here  considered. 

A  much  broken  sky  line  is  not  always  desirable  in 
other  styles  of  gardening,  particularly  in  the  natural. 
It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  first  points  of  instruction  nsu- 


IHE  PICTURESQUE  STYLE.  43 

ally  given  In  attempts  to  teach  the  natural  style,  that  the 
sky  line  should  be  broken  ;  but  this  expedient  for  variety 
may  well  have  its  limits  in  most  naturalistic  composi- 
tions. In  a  development  of  the  picturesque  it  has  prac- 
tically no  limit,  and  the  more  the  sky  line  may  be  serried 
and  cut  the  more  emphatic  will  be  the  resulting  effect. 
The  scattering  specimens  of  starved  and  deformed 
pines  which  one  sees  at  some  places  on  rugged  hill  or 
mountain  sides  have  a  charming  picturesqueness  in 
themselves  which  fits  well  into  their  surroundings. 
Solid  groups  of  symmetrically  developed  trees  in  such 


.^M^- 


K. 


^ 


:.s. 


PIG.  13.    RUSTIC  PK'TURESQUENESS. 

Fiom  aCaUfoinia  park. 

situations  would  be  patent  detractions  from  the  general 
local  effect.  The  scattering  individuals  .have  a  great 
advantage,  and  these  are  best  displayed  in  middle  dis- 
tances. A  single  tree  is  always  a  middle-ground  subject. 
If  it  be  too  close  to  the  observer  its  composite  beauty  is 
unseen  ;  if  it  be  too  far,  its  individuality  is  blurred.  All 
this  is  of  especial  weight  in  a  specimen  exhibited  for  its 
individual  eccentricities.  It  lias  even  been  the  practice 
in  some  instances  to  plant  dead  and  blasted  trees  in 
pleasure  grounds  for  the  picturcsqueness  of  their  effect, 
but  the  expediency  of  such  a  plan  is  very  questionable. 


CHAPTER  VL 

VARIETY. 

Nature  puts  so  much  variety  into  her  reality  that  she  is 
more  beautiiul  than  we  can  imagine  by  sl»eer  force  of  quan- 
tity !  Ten  days  for  an  artist  in  a  mountain  valley  will  g:ive 
him  ten  views  from  the  same  point  which  will  be  entirely 
different  each  day.  F.  Schuyler  Matheios. 

Gettiamo  nn  rapido  struardo  sul  vasto  imperio  delle  arti, 
osservlamo  per  jioco  le  produzioni  di  ciascuna,  e  resterenio 
convitti  die,  nulla  h  bello  alia  ragione  se  non  le  si  presenta 
con  parti  varie,  e  queste  riimite  in  un  principo  comune. 

F.  Cartolano. 

Thus  far  we  have  been  treating  of  unity,  and  point- 
ing out  those  particular  elements  which  are  usually  har- 
monious when  brought  together.  Unity  must  always 
be  placed  first,  as  the  most  important  quality  ;  for  some- 
times unity  alone  will  make  a  small  composition  agree- 
able. Still,  if  unity  means  uniformity,  sameness,  the 
eye  soon  tires  of  it.  But  unity  does  not  demand  same- 
ness. There  may  be  unity  with  variety.  The  two  are 
not  really  opposecl  to  each  other,  though  either  one 
would  be  easier  to  accomplish  could  tlie  other  be  disre- 
garded. Perfect  unity  with  satisfying  variety  need  not 
be  even  a  compromise ;  but  both  tests  must  always  be 
applied  by  the  gardener.  It  is  heli^ful  to  the  landscape 
com])oser  to  remember  that  variety  is  possible  in  surface, 
form,  materials,  color,  texture,  season,  composition 
and  position. 

In  seeking  to  vary  the  surface  on  which  our  garden- 
ing is  to  be  done,  our  attention  falls  first  upon  the  three 
simplest  forms  of  ground,  viz.,  the  plane,  the  concave 
and  the  convex  surfaces.  And  we  note  also  that  tlie 
concave  and  convex  surfaces  give  in  themselves  a  much 
greater  variety  of  view  than   is  afforded  by  a  plane. 

44 


VARIETY.  45 

This  is  so  potent  a  fact  tbat  in  making  np  tlie  surface  of 
the  grounds  for  park  or  residence  purposes  great  care  is 
usually  taken  to  avoid  a  perfect  plane,  and  still  to  give 
a  uniform  swell  or  depression.  Breaking  the  plane  with 
a  succession  of  little  hillocks  would  be  fatal  indeed.  Of 
these  three  classes  of  surface  the  concave  is  usually  to 
be  preferred  for  small  areas,  for  it  gives  much  the  best 
effect  of  extent.  From  any  point  within  a  concavity 
the  whole  surface  is  visible.  This  is  not  true  of  a  con- 
vexity ;  and  a  perfectly  flat  surface  will,  unless  given 
some  bold  and  striking  treatment,  always  have  a  sug- 
gestion of  inconsequentiality  about  it. 

A  caution  needs  to  be  inserted  here  to  secure  the 
best  use  of  these  several  varieties  of  surface.  As  long 
ago  as  1770  Thomas  Wheatley  said  :  '^In  made  ground 
the  connection  is,  j^erhaps,  the  principal  consideration. 
A  swell  which  wants  it  is  but  a  heap;  a  hollow  but  a 
hole  ;  and  both  appear  artificial.  .  .  .  Such  shapes 
should  be  contiguous  as  most  readily  unite ;  and  the 
actual  division  between  them  should  be  anxiously  con- 
cealed. If  a  swell  descends  upon  a  level ;  if  a  hollow 
sinks  from  it,  the  level  is  an  abrupt  termination,  and  a 
little  rim  marks  it  distinctly.  To  cover  that  rim  a  short 
sweep  at  the  foot  of  the  swell,  a  small  rotundity  at  the 
entrance  of  the  hollow,  must  be  interposed."  All  these 
cautions  are  fully  worth  attention  ;  for  the  slightest  dif- 
ferences m  the  surface  of  the  ground  are  obvious  and 
important  to  the  sympathetic  beholder. 

Broken  ground  offers  an  evident  and  spicy  variety. 
The  value  of  broken  ground  for  developments  of  the 
picturesque  hiis  already  been  touched  ujion. 

Sloping  grounds  have  a  value  all  their  own,  and, 
for  their  most  effective  utilization,  require  a  special 
treatment.  Mr.  Parsons,  in  his  "  Landscape  Gardening," 
includes  a  cha])ter  of  useful  directions  for  the  treatment 
of  such  sites,  which  the  student  will  do  well  to  consult. 


46  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

Here  we  will  content  ourselves  by  saying  that  two  oppor- 
tunities are  afforded  the  gardener  by  sloping  grounds 
which  are  elsewhere  unusual.  The  first  is  iii  the  diver- 
sity of  surface  presented.  The  second  is  in  the  advan- 
tageous situation  for  the  display  of  many  plants  which, 
in  any  other  position,  would  not  appear  to  advantage. 
In  respect  to  the  first,  it  should  be  explained  that  even 
comparatively  gentle  slopes  may  be  emphadzed  by  proper 
treatment  until  they  appear  to  be  steep  declivities.  The 
first  expedient  to  this  end  lies  in  the  treatment  of  the 
ground  itself.  It  is  simply  to  contrive  small  irregulari- 
ties of  the  surface  by  placing  here  and  there  a  little 
swell  which  rises  abruptly  and  then  falls  away  very 
gently  down  the  hill.  This  part  of  the  declivity  will 
of  course  be  steeper  than  the  general  slope ;  and  a  few 
of  these  contrasts  will  give  the  appearance  desired.  Such 
variety  is  often  to  be  sought  on  a  nearly  flat  and  feature- 
less place.  A  slope  also  furnishes  a  specially  suitable 
location  for  the  disposition  of  rocks,  both  because  they 
are  needed  to  hold  the  hillside  against  washing  by  rains, 
and  because  they  appear  to  much  better  advantage  than 
on  level  ground.  If  the  rocks  used  on  a  hillside  are  not 
in  their  natural  stratifications,  and  plainly  so,  they 
should  always  be  mingled  with  grass  and  shrubs  and 
trailing  vines.  Many  trailing  vines  give  great  satisfac- 
tion if  allowed  to  run  at  liberty  down  the  side  of  a  bank.* 
Water  in  any  form  furnishes  an  ever  pleasing  addi- 
tion to  a  garden,  whether  as  a  bubbling  fountain,  a 
sparkling  brook,  or  a  cool  and  quiet  expanse  of  mirror- 
like surface.  In  brooks  and  ]X)nds  it  furnishes  one  of 
the  most  delightful  resources  of  the  landscape  gardener. 
Besides  the  wonderful  variety  of  pleasing  effects  of  which 
it  is  in  itself  capable,  it  i)rovidcs  the  only  opportunity 


♦Trailing  plants  may  often  be  used  to  great  advantage.  In  many 
such  situations  tlie  hardy  perennials  are  especially  desirable.  See 
Chap.  XXI,  Part  IV. 


VARIETY. 


47 


48  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

for  growing  many  species  and  varieties  of  our  most  beau- 
tiful plants.  The  possibilities  which  are  open  to  the 
landscape  gardener  in  the  treatment  of  water  surfaces 
are  so  magnificent  and  manifold  that  neither  description 
nor  enumeration  is  practicable  here.  We  can  only 
declare  with  all  emphasis  that  when  water  surfaces  are 
brought  into  a  landscape  composition  an  immeasurable 
field  of  harmonious  variety  is  oj)ened  for  cultivation  by 
the  resourceful  gardener. 

A  curved  line  changes  direction  at  every  point. 
This  is  the  old  definition,  which,  in  itself,  is  a  plain 
statement  that  an  infinite  variety  of  direction  is  con- 
tained in  a  curved  line.  A  straight  line  has  only  one 
direction. 

The  partial  concealment  of  principal  points  of  inter- 
est is  a  common  and  profitable  exj)edient  in  most  cases, — 
less  so  perhaps  in  the  architectural  style  than  in  others. 
In  the  natural  style  it  is  always  admissible  to  group  the 
trees  so  as  to  hide,  partially  or  totally,  the  buildings 
from  most  situations,  and  to  give  a  realjy  complete  view 
from  only  a  few  specially  favorable  points.  If  a  group 
is  £0  placed  as  to  aiford  a  partial  view  of  the  buildings 
from  one  standpoint,  a  totally  different  view  is  seen 
from  a  second  standpoint.  In  this  way  the  buildings 
are  seen  in  an  endless  variety  of  forms.  If  a  drive  or 
walk  leads  up  to  some  object  of  speciah  interest,  it  may 
be  always  considered  a  good  plan,  where  possible,  to 
give  successive  glimpses  of  the  object  along  the  way, 
reserving  a  full  view  for  a  final  triumi)h  at  a  point  from 
which  the  whole  may  be  best  admired. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  at  public  institutions, 
where  several  buildings  are  needed,  to  find  them  all  of 
the  same  general  design  and  placed  in  a  row,  all  fronting 
the  same  way.  1  have  in  mind,  as  bavin i^-  come  within 
my  own  observation,  two  instances  of  this.  One  is  a 
large  reform  school ;  the  other  a  great  state  university. 


VAKIETY.  49 

[n  either  case  tliere  was  room,  and  to  spare,  for  a  differ- 
ence of  design  and  location.  There  may  be  circum- 
stances which  make  the  uniform  j^lan  and  arrangement 
the  host,  but  certain  monotony  is  the  result. 

Dee])  vistas  in  any  landscape  planting  are  desirable 
for  many  reasons.  They  give  depth  to  the  scene.  Our 
gardening  is  usually  on  too  small  a  scale  to  satisfy  fully 
the  hungry  eye.  One's  look  will  wander  away  and 
beyond  the  fence  which  limits  the  little  garden,  and 
seek  to  lose  itself  at  the  farthest  reach  of  the  eyesight's 


FIG.  15.     TTTB  SKY   tTTTE    PROPKRL,Y  PITKCTITATED. 

W:ishiiigt()n  Park,  Albany. 

power.  Thus  it  but  satisfies  a  natural  desire  if  the  open- 
ings in  the  garden  plantings  are  so  placed  as  to  permit 
the  eye  full  enjoyment  of  any  good  extraneous  view. 
And  even  within  the  grounds  a  long  perspective  fur- 
nislies  a  variety  of  views,  siuce  in  it  some  objects  are 
seen  at  a  distance,  some  in  middle-ground  and  some  in 
the  foreground. 

The   sky   line   should    never   be   monotonous.      In 
speaking  of  picturesque  effects  we  have  already  suggested 
that  the  sky  line  should  not  always  be  much  broken. 
4 


50  LANDSCAPE  GARDENINQ. 

The  charm  of  the  purely  natural  style,  especially  in  cer- 
tarn  situations,  lies  in  its  utter  quietness  and  peacefulness. 
A  horizon  full  of  Lombardy  poplar  exclamation  points 
is  not  in  unity  with  such  ideas.  But  the  sky  Ime  may 
he  diverj^ified  more  gently.  It  may  be  carried  high  on 
one  side  by  a  mass  of  heavy  woods  ;  it  may  sink  low  on 
another  side,,  to  the  surface  of  a  lake  ;  and  in  one  or  two 
places  it  may  i^erhaps  be  accentuated  with  the  spire-like 
poplars.  This  is  a  matter  in  which  good  taste  must  be 
exercised ;  for  while  very  few  observers  will  analyze  a 
scene  and  itemize  the  excellencies  and  defects  of  the  sky 
line,  the  most  unsympathetic  mind  may  be  keenly, 
though  perhaps  uncon scion sh\  alive  to  both. 

Very  few  people  have  any  conception  of  the  multi- 
tudinous species  and  varieties  of  trees,  shrubs,  climbers, 
flowering  and  foliage  plants  at  the  command  of  the  hor- 
ticultural architect.  AYith  twenty  sorts  of  maples,  and 
as  many  oaks  ;  with  poplars  in  all  shapes  and  sizes ; 
with  dozens  of  varieties  of  lilacs,  scores  of  spiraeas  and 
hundreds  of  roses;  with  evergreens  and  deciduous  trees; 
fastigiate  and  weeping  trees ;  dark-colored  and  yellow 
trees;  broad-leaved  and  cut-leaved  trees;  big  trees  and 
little  trees  ;  with  other  trees,  shrubs,  climbers  and  hardy 
plants  literally  ''too  numerous  to  mention,"  the  gar- 
dener need  never  want  for  variety  of  material.  To  know 
these  resources  and  to  understand  the  possibilities  of 
each  species  Jind  variety  is  to  master  the  landscape  gar- 
dener's useful  alphabet. 

*'From  the  artistic  point  of  view,  trees  have  three 
characteristics  which  may  be  separately  studied. — form^ 
texture  and  color."*  AVe  have  already  noticed  the  gen- 
eral vnriety  in  forms  available  to  the  landscape  gardener; 
but  it  is  worth  while,  in  the  present  connection,  to 
emphasize  the  attractive  variety  of  forms  which  meet 

♦Mrs.  Schuyler  Van  Rensselaer.  "Art  out  of  Doors.** 


VARIETY.  61 

the  admiration  of  the  tree  lover.  The  form  of  a  tree  is 
its  first  and  most  evident  characteristic.  Its  outline  is 
always  beautiful,  either  in  its  symmetry  or  its  irregu- 
larity, as  the  case  may  be ;  and  the  man  wlio  does  not 
notice  the  difference  between  the  form  of  a  Sugar  maple 
and  a  Mossy  Cup  oak  is  one  to  whom  TAngelus  might 
as  well  have  been  a  chromo. 

There  are  considerable  contrasts  of  color  among 
trees.  One  may  cite  as  examples  the  Red  oak,  the  Sil- 
ver poplar  and  the  Golden  willow.  Bub  the  most  pleas- 
ing and  numerous  varieties  of  color  in  trees  and  shrubs 
are  separated  from  each  other  as  barely  distinguishable 
tints.  The  proper  combination  of  these  tints  is  delicate 
work  for  a  sympathetic  and  artistic  mind  ;  but  there  is, 
nevertheless,  a  wide  difference  between  good  combina- 
tions and  bad  ones. 

The  difference  between  a  strip  of  mosquito  netting 
and  a  piece  of  sail  cloth  is  chiefly  one  of  texture.  We 
speak  of  texture  oftenest  in  connection  with  woven 
fabrics,  and  in  that  connection  we  best  understand  what 
it  means.  But  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to  transfer 
this  notion  of  texture  to  the  api^rent  solidity,  or  lack 
of  solidity,  in  the  mass  of  green  which  the  foliage  of 
any  tree  may  present.  A  i:)lane  tree  is  not  greatly  dif- 
ferent in  form  from  a  Kentucky  coffee  tree,  and  yet 
what  a  difference  in  the  effect  they  have  on  the  observer  ! 
Compare  a  catalpa  with  a  honey  locust;  a  tulip  tree 
with  a  Avillow.  What  a  difference  in  the  whole  aspect 
of  the  trees  contrasted  !  These  examples  may,  perhaps, 
suggest  tlie  meaning  of  Mrs.  Van  Eensselacr's  definition  : 
**  By  texture  of  a  tree  I  mean  the  character  of  its  masses 
of  foliage  as  determined  by  the  manner  of  growth  of  the 
lighter  spray,  and  the  number,  shape,  disposition  and 
tissne  of  its  leaves."  In  no  other  quality  of  a  tree  is 
variety  more  effective  than  in  the  texture.  Some  strik- 
ing differences  of  texture  in  foliage  are  shown  in  Fig.  16. 


52 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENtNG. 


s 


VABIETT.  53 

The  horticultural  calendar  has  certain  well-marked 
divisions  to  which  the  exhibitor  of  growing  plants  may 
well  have  thoughtful  regard.  The  first  essay  that  was 
ever  wiitten  in  the  English  language  on  the  subject  of 
ornamental  gardening  opened  with  an  extreme  prescrip- 
tion for  tliis  arrangement.  ''  I  do  hold  it,"  says  Bacon,* 
**in  the  royal  ordering  of  gardens,  there  ought  to  be  gar- 
dens for  all  the  months  of  tlie  year,  in  which,  severally, 
things  of  beauty  may  be  then  in  season."  The  essayist 
proceeds  immediately  to  give  a  catalogue  of  the  plants 
seasonable  to  each  month  of  the  year,  **for  the  climate 
of  London."  We  may  doubt  whether  ten  or  twelve 
classes  of  plants  can  practicably  be  made  on  this  basis ; 
but  we  distinguish  in  our  own  aesthetic  sensibilities  with 
great  differences  between  spring  greens,  June  roses, 
midsummer's  wealth  of  foliage,  autumn  colors  and  choice 
winter  scenes.  Any  particular  plant  is  not  likely  to 
figure  in  its  perfection  through  more  than  one  or  two  of 
these  seasons ;  and  this  opens  to  the  landscai)e  gardener 
a  serious  problem.  The  question  is,  shall  we  attempt 
to  intermingle  the  perfections  of  all  the  year  so  as  to 
have  somewhat  of  attractiveness  in  each  several  group  at 
all  times  ?  Or  shall  we  rather  follow  the  dictum  of  Lord 
Bacon,  and  group  together  those  plants  suitable  to  each 
successive  season  ?  Doubtless  each  method  is  at  times 
expedient.  If  one's  garden  is  so  small  as  to  hold  only  a 
single  group  of  i^lants  he  will  scarcely  care  to  buy  a  single 
month  of  superlative  perfection  at  the  expense  of  eleven 
months  of  dullness  and  desolation.  But  Avhere  the  gar- 
dening is  on  a  more  extensive  scale  the  artist  may  dis- 
tribute his  beauties  into  any  sort  of  an  annual  cyclorama 
which  he  chooses.  He  will  gain,  at  all  events,  a  most 
acceptable  variety  by  having  regard  to  the  special  sea- 
sons mentioned. 

•Lord  Francis  Bacon,  Essays,  "  Of  Gardening." 


54  LANDSCAPE  GaEDENING. 

It  is  nob  within  the  rang-e  of  oar  present  inquiry  to 
enumerate  those  special  plants  which  are  ready  to  the 
gardeners  hand  for  these  diverse  effects.  This  has 
already  been  done  in  many  useful  books,  and  some  sug- 
gestions are  made  in  Part  III  of  the  present  volume. 
The  com^ietent  gardener  should  be  able,  out  of  his  own 
knowledge,  to  select  the  most  pleasing  materials  for 
his  pictures. 

The  light  gray-greens  are  perhaps  characteristic  of 
the  early  spring.  As  trees  and  shrubs  put  forth  their 
first  unfoldnig  buds  the  general  effect  is  much  different 
from  that  given  by  the  same  plants  after  the  full  dress 
of  foliage  is  put  on.  Usually  the  color  is  several  shades 
lighter — grayer — and  this  aj)pearance  is  further  hight- 
ened  by  the  grayer  twigs  not  yet  covered  out  of  sight 
but  showing  more  and  more  dimly  through  tlie  thicken- 
ing screen  of  green  leaves.  Certain  plants  are  more 
beautiful  iu  this  spring  dress  than  at  any  subsequent 
season. 

Some  of  tlie  willows  should  be  prominently  men- 
tioned in  this  category ;  for  example,  the  Royal  willow, 
Salix  Q-egalis.  Among  tlie  smaller  flowering  plants 
there  is  a  specially  rich  field  of  possibilities,  including 
crocus,  narcissus,  jonquils,  hyacinths,  tulips  and  others. 
These  are  suitable  not  only  to  be  the  first  occupants 
of  the  bleak  flower  beds  after  the  mulch  is  removed 
in  the  spring,  but  they  should  be  scattered  with  a  liberal 
hand  through  the  grass  and  in  the  borders,  where 
they  come  on  year  after  year  amid  surroundings  which 
make  them  seem  even  more  dainty  and  graceful  aud 
delightful  harbingers  of  returning  spring  than  when 
grown  in  specially  prepared  beds. 

June  is  the  month  of  roses,  brides  and  college  grad- 
uates. It  is  particularly  a  mouth  of  fetes  and  of  care- 
free enjoyment  of  living.  Weddmgs  and  commence- 
ments are  the  gardener's  good  patrons,  and  for  them  tho 


VARIETY.  55 

grounds  may  well  put  on  their  holiday  attire.  June  is 
the  youthful  gala  time  of  the  garden ;  and  the  bold  and 
blushing,  smiling  and  nodding,  vain  and  conscious  roses, 
which  would  be  thought  immodest  amid  the  tranquillity 
of  summer  or  the  somberness  of  autumn,  are  now 
received  with  gladness  as  the  fitting  expression  of  our 
exuberant  emotions.  Flowers  in  abundance,  with  roses 
predominating;  bright  colors  and  heavy  perfumes; 
with  greens  and  grays  and  old  folks  kept  in  the  back- 
ground— these  are  the  colors  for  the  June  jncture,  the 
chords  for  the  June  music. 

In  midsummer  nothing  is  more  delightful  than 
quiet  rest  under  cooling  shade.  No  flashing  colors  for 
us  now.  No  Jarring  contrasts  for  the  tired  eyes.  The 
trees  now  invite  us  with  their  thickest  canopy  of  foliage ; 
and  if  beneath  them  stretches  a  cool,  clean  greensward, 
and  if  the  shadows  fall  all  untroubled  hito  a  still  pool 
near  by,  we  rest  amid  these  scenes  with  an  overflowing 
gratitude  for  the  kind  hands  by  which  they  are  provided. 
We  have  fled  the  dusty  highway,  the  burning  streets, 
the  noise  and  hurry  and  commotion  of  business.  Quiet 
and  solitude  are  our  chief  desires.  These  feelings,  com- 
mon to  all  men  at  such  times,  indicate  unequiv- 
ocally th^  duty  of  the  gardener.  With  so  unmis- 
takable a  demand  upon  him,  he  is  no  gardener  at  all 
who  will  not  know  what  he  ouglit  to  do. 

The  beautiful  colors  of  autumn  are  too  much  looked 
upon  as  secondary  qualities  of  the  plants  which  affect 
them,  and  their  disposition  on  the  grounds  is  too  much 
a  matter  of  chance.  The  gardener  ought  to  recognize 
in  these  autumn  colors  another  opportunity  for  the 
aggregation  of  scattered  beauties.  Through  these  he 
may  produce  one  more  almost  spectacular  effect  before 
the  winter  shuts  us  all  indoors  away  from  the  enjoyment 
of  his  Avorks.  Without  speaking  of  the  individual  excel- 
lencies of  the  oaks,  the  liquidambar,  the  maples  and  the 


56 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENIN"G. 


tulip  trees,  we  may  note  that  two  distinct  colors  appeal 
in  great  quantities,  namely  the  reds  and  the  yellows. 
Each  of  these  is  present  in  comparative  purity  in  certain 
species,  and  their  combination  is  specially  adapted  to 
provide  the  most  extraordinary  contrasts.  And  at  no 
other  lime  of  the  year  would  the  eye  accept  such  gaudv 
hues, — no,  not  even  in  June, — mucli  less  delight  in 
them.     But  now  as  our  overcoats  are  buttoned  on  and 


FIO.  17.     A  WINTER  PTCTITRE. 
A  sketch  of  nature's  composing. 


as  we  hurry  along  to  get  ourselves  under  shelter  from 
the  bustling  wind,  we  are  in  no  mood  to  note  details 
r.ad  e::a:niiie  delicate  effects.  A  picture  must  cry  out 
aflcr  us  if  it  Avould  get  our  attention.  And  so  the  gar- 
dener may  mass  together  as  much  as  he  jileases  of  those 
gorgeous  colors  of  tlie  early  frost ;  and  we  will  stop  a 
moment  to  admire  his  work  again  and  to  thank  liim  for 


VARIETY.  57 

it  ere  we  betake  ourselves  to  the  blazing  hearth  and  the 
absorbing  book. 

But  even  the  winter  does  not  wholly  rob  the  gar- 
dener of  opportunity  to  please  us.  Indeed,  some  of  the 
most  gracious  products  of  the  ornamental  grounds  are 
those  blessings  which  are  enjoyed  in  midwinter.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  the  ground  must  be  all  bleak- 
ness and  desolation  as  soon  as  snow  falls.  There  is  a 
whole  host  of  the  evergreens  to  refute  such  a  supposi- 
tion. The  variety  of  them  is  greater  than  the  unitiated 
might  at  all  suspect.  With  them  may  be  arranged 
many  shrubs  and  small  trees  which,  though  deciduous, 
have  bark  of  such  bright  and  pleasing  hues  that  they 
may  be  shown  against  dark  backgrounds  in  many  cheery 
combinations.  Such  are  the  Golden  willow,  the  Golden 
spiraea  and  the  Red  branched  dogwood.  A  long  list  of 
others  mighu  easily  be  made.  There  are  certain  corners 
of  the  garden  which  are  usually  especially  conspicuous 
from  the  windows  of  the  living  rooms;  and  it  is  a  juty 
if  part  of  this  scene  at  least  cannot  be  robbed  of  its 
winter  bleakness  and  dreariness.  If  such  spots  are 
chosen  for  beautiful  winter  effects  the  designer  has 
gained  another  triumph  in  his  art. 

There  is  some  danger  tliat  the  beginner  in  i^lant 
grouping  will  make  all  his  groups  alike.  This  is  a  very 
easy  thing  to  do.  To  avoid  it,  it  first  becomes  necessary 
that  the  operator  shall  see  the  sameness  into  which  he  is 
falling.  This  he  can  best  do  in  his  own  work  by  direct- 
ing his  imagination  to  construct  before  him  the  various 
finished  groups.  It  is  certainly  unlikely  that  the  indi- 
vidual plants  will  be  set  in  exactly  homologous  jiositions 
unless  the  groups  are  set  with  a  tape  measure.  But  it  is 
not  difficult,  if  the  imagination  be  serviceable,  to  com- 
pare the  probable  final  effects  of  two  groups,  and  deter- 
mine with  satisfactory  accuracy  if  the  two  will  look 
alike  twenty  years  hence.     Aside  from  the  ability  to  see 


58  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

mistakes,  it  requires  an  inventive  mind  to  devise  new 
arrangements  for  groups  ;  bnt  a  variety  of  arrangements 
they  certainly  should  have  in  any  scheme  not  intention- 
ally formal. 

Single  trees  or  shrubs  appear  to  great  advantage 
when  properly  placed,  and  If  in  all  respects  good,  they 
add  sensibly  to  the  composite  beauty  of  the  scene.  A 
single  i)lant  will  naturally  receive  more  and  better  atten- 
tion when  standing  by  itself  than  though  it  were  in  a 
group  with  others.  For  this  reason  it  should  have 
greater  individual  excellence,  if  possible.  It  should  be 
faultless,  if  that  can  be.  There  are  many  positions 
about  any  extensive  grounds  in  which  single  trees  or 
shrubs  will  be  acceptable  units  of  the  composition.  The 
judgment  of  the  designer  must  point  these  out;  but  we 
may  take  note  that  they  will  usually  be  comparatively 
clo^e  to  the  observer,  so  that  the  single  plants  will  always 
be  under  critical  examination.  Such  places  are,  then, 
to  be  reserved  for  specially  choice  specimens.  Any  rare 
or  remarkable  plant, — not  monstrous  and  deformed, — 
should  be  given  such  a  place  of  prominence.  And  every 
specimen  plant  should  be  remarkable  for  its  individual 
2^erfections  of  good  culture. 

There  are  a  great  many  general  and  common  forms 
given  to  groups,  but  their  classification  and  discussion 
do  not  belong  here.  It  is  sufficient  to  iterate  that 
this  is  another  point  at  which  conspicuous  variety  is 
both  possible  and  i)roper. 

There  arc,  of  course,  some  objects  which  are  seen 
both  near  by  and  at  a  distance.  But  in  the  majority  of 
instances  an  object, — for  instance,  a  tree, — will  be  most 
often  seen  from  the  same  distance.  If  it  stand  at  the 
back  of  a  wood  belt,  with  numerous  smaller  trees  between 
it  and  the  distant  roadway,  it  may  be  fairly  considered 
in  the  background.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  stand 
close  beside  a  much  frequented  path  or  just  before  the 


VARIETY. 


59 


windows  of  the  living  room,  it  is  usually  seen  in  the 
foreground.  Between  these  extremes  there  is  a  middle- 
ground  of  greater  or  less  extent.  The  same  plant  gives 
exceedingly  diverse  effects  as  seen  in  these  three  differ- 
ent positions. 

A  background  is  made  up  most  naturally  of  large 
trees.  Here  can  be  used  many  species  of  rough  and 
uncouth  growth  which  would  not  look  respectable  at 


FIG.  18.     P.ACfKGROUND  AND  SCREEN  COMBINED. 

Note  also  the  fine  grouping  of  shrubs  in  the  border.    Prospect  Park, 

Brooklyn. 


close  range.  Trees  ^f  which  the  texture  is  so  coarse  or 
irregular  as  to  be  inadmissible  in  the  foreground,  seem 
at  the  background  to  give  but  a  gentle  touch  to  the 
elsewise  unbroken  and  monotonous  surface.  Trees  of 
which  the  colors  would  jnr  upon  a  fastidious  eye  if  seen 
too  close,  seem  modest  and  pretty  at  a  greater  distance. 
Moreover,  a  background  must  be  made  up  with  due 
thought  to  the  most  effectual  exhibition  of  whatever  lies 


60  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

between  it  and  the  observers.  For  tliis  reason  it  must 
not  have  a  bristling  sKy  line  if  smooth  and  round  headed 
smaller  trees  are  to  appear  in  front  of  it.  And  the  oj^po- 
site  mistake  must  be  guarded  against.  One  time  with 
another,  the  background  may  best  be  darker  than  those 
groups  which  intervene  between  it  and  the  usual  j^oint 
of  view.  This  rule  cannot  always  be  adhered  to,  for  it 
would  force  all  dark  colored  species  out  of  the  fore-  and 
middle-ground  ;  but  the  reverse  presentation  must  always 
be  looked  upon  as  an  undesirable  concession  to  other 
necessities. 

In  the  foreground,  where  all  plants  are  under  com- 
paratively close  scrutiny,  only  those  should  be  used 
which  will  bear  such  examination.  Flowering  shrubs 
and  herbaceous  plants  may  be  used  here.  In  most  cases 
plants  for  the  foreground  must  be  small ;  and  though 
we  like  to  have  large  trees  next  the  walk  so  that  we  can 
enjoy  their  shade,  and  though  this  demand  should  be 
met,  to  a  degree,  yet  a  tree  so  placed  adds  nothing  to 
the  picture,  and  too  many  such  trees  shut  off  the  view 
entirely.  It  is  a  common  fault,  in  the  plantings  along 
drives  and  walks,  that  they  do  not  give  a  satisfactory 
view  of  the  landscape. 

There  is  a  great  wealth  of  medium  sized  trees  and 
large  shrubs  which  look  well  in  middle-ground.  Of 
these  are  the  buckeyes,  altheas,  lilacs,  and  the  interest- 
ing koelreuteria.  The  middle-ground  is  an  advanta- 
geous place  for  the  exhibition  of  all  tree  specimens.  If 
the  form  of  a  tree  specimen  is  to  be  admired  it  will  be  put 
far  back  in  the  middle-ground  ;  if  it  is  the  beautiful  foli- 
age, it  Avill  come  to  the  nearer  middle-ground.  Middle- 
ground  plantings  sometimes  serve  the  purposes  of  back- 
ground to  foreground  plantings;  but  this  is  not  often 
the  case,  and  it  is  an  undesirable  arrangement. 

It  not  infrequently  occurs  that  there  are  beautiful 
objects  visible  from  the  grounds  under  treatment  and 


VAEIETY.  61 

yet  lying  wholly  outside  tliem.  It  may  be  mountain 
scenery,  a  lake,  a  view  of  the  ocean,  a  glimpse  of  a 
pretty  village,  or  any  other  exterior  object  which  bears 
an  interest  to  the  users  of  the  grounds  but  which  is 
itself  wholly  beyond  the  control  of  the  designer.  Some- 
times these  exterior  objects  are  of  even  greater  impor- 
tance than  all  the  grounds  upon  which  the  gardener  has 
to  work.  This  might  be  the  case  with  a  small  plot  of 
ground  lying  next  the  ocean.  In  such  an  extreme  case 
the  intelligent  gardener  will  seek  to  make  his  entire 
work  contribute  to  enhance  the  beauty  or  effectiveness 
of  the  chief  though  exterior  view.  This  means,  of 
course,  that  all  his  effects  shall  be  subordinate  to  the 
princijml  interest.  It  would  be  a  blameworthy  act  to 
place  anything  in  the  garden  which  would  draw  atten- 
tion to  itself  and  away  from  the  outside  view.  In  any 
case  he  will  have  careful  regard  to  these  exterior  views, 
and  will  arrange  his  groupings  so  as  to  avail  himself  of 
whatever  extraneous  beauties  may  be  at  hand.  This,  of 
course,  means  the  leaving  of  open  vistas  along  well 
chosen  lines.  The  lines  which  are  thus  to  be  left  open, 
as  well  as  all  the  long  vistas  or  perspectives  which  are  to 
be  preserved  inside  the  grounds,  should  be  marked  first 
on  the  engrossed  plans,  and  as  the  plans  are  developed 
on  the  paj^er  all  obstructions  may  be  kept  off  them. 
Again,  when  the  plans  are  being  worked  out  on  the 
grounds  these  open  lines  should  be  carefully^  marked 
and  the  plantings  kept  from  crowding  upon  them. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

CHARACTER — PROPRIETY. 

Two  qualities  usually  distinguish  professional  from 
amateur  productions— simplicity  and  breadth  of  treatment. 

Ed.  Andre. 

L'espressione  esagerata  o  negletta  constituisce.  .  .  . 
due  difetti  oppositi,  il  barocco.  ed  il  secco  o  freddo,tra  i 
quali  procede  amabile  la  semplicitk.  F.  Cartolano. 

Character  is  the  most  elusive  quality  of  all  those 
with  which  we  deal.  Almost  all  writers  on  gardening 
have  talked  more  or  less  of  character,  assuming  it  as  a 
quality,  but  never  approaching  a  definition  or  an  ex23la- 
nation.  Thomas  Wheatley  did,  in  fact,  long  ago  intro- 
duce a  chapter  *'0f  Character"  into  his  remarkably 
clear  analytical  outline  ;  but  tlie  chapter  treated  of  sub- 
jects quite  different  from  those  discussed  here.  If  I 
may  venture  on  the  dangerous  experiment  of  a  provi- 
sional definition,  I  will  say  that  I  intend  to  suggest  by 
the  term  character  those  more  delicate  distinctions  in 
the  general  method  of  treatment,  such  as  may  mark  one 
comjiosition  from  another,  even  of  the  same  general 
style.  "We  understand  clearly  what  is  meant  by  char- 
acter in  a  man  or  woman,  and  I  should  like  to  transfer 
this  notion  undisturbed  to  use  in  the  descriptions  of 
gardens.  It  is  a  common  saying  that  the  face  of  such 
and  such  an  acquaintance  is  pretty  but  it  lacks  charac- 
ter. It  is  i^erfectly  conceivable  that  a  garden  might  be 
faultless  in  the. unity  and  the  harmony  of  its  appoint- 
ments, with  everything  beautiful  and  appropriate  withal, 
and  yet  lack  character. 

In  different  words,  we  might  say  that  character  is 
the  personal  impress  of  the  designer.  Thus  we  would 
never  expect  a  poem  of  pure  and  lofty  character  to  flow 

62 


CHAEACTEK — PROPRIETY.  63 

from  a  wicked  heart.  We  would  not  expect  a  painting 
of  great  power  to  originate  in  a  dull,  iinsensitive  mind. 
No  more  can  we  hope  to  see  vigor  and  dignity  displayed 
in  a  garden  designed  by  a  weak  and  puerile  author.  In 
this  close  and  proper  connection  of  tlie  character  of  the 
garden  with  the  character  of  its  designer  we  may  per- 
haps more  clearly  understand  its  present  signification. 

Certain  terms  are  commonly  associated  in  criticism 
of  gardens,  such  as  simplicity,  dignity,  boldness,  and 
others.  These  I  take  to  represent  different  types  of 
character.  I  think  this  is  the  use  commonly  made  by 
those  who  apply  them  to  art  compositions,  even  though 
those  wlio  use  them  thus  have  never  stop2:)ed  to  general- 
ize under  any  common  term  the  qualities  expressed. 
These  terms,  simplicity,  dignity  and  boldness,  are  suf- 
ficiently suggestive  of  certain  characters.  This  list  is 
not  intended  to  be  complete,  for,  theoretically  at  least, 
there  may  be  an  indefinite  variety  of  character.  The 
term  complexity  is  added  to  the  list  only  because  it 
seems  to  be  implied  in  simplicity.  Perhaps  elaborate- 
ness would  be  preferred  to  complexity  as  a  term  for  a 
more  careful  classification. 

Between  the  terms  propriety  and  appropriateness  it 
is  hard  to  choose  the  better.  The  latter  is  the  more 
explicit  in  its  suggestions,  but  the  former  has  the  advan- 
tage of  brevity  and  of  good  associations,  which  I  think 
ought  to  be  operative  in  our  criticisms  of  taste  in  gar- 
dening. For  as  we  inquire  whether  this  or  that  social 
appointment  is  marked  by  strict  proprict}^  so  ought  we 
to  criticise  the  items  of  the  gardener's  ^vork.  It  must 
be  said  that  such  criticism  is  sorely  needed,  and  that 
many  gardeners  of  some  reputation  seem  never  to  have 
reflected  that  such  a  test  as  propriety  can  be  applied  to 
their  work.  Our  American  cemeteries  are  often  striking 
exemplifications  of  this  statem'ent.  In  them  one  con- 
ranually  meets  objects  of  such  childish  conception,  such 


64  LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

incongruous  effect  or  sncli  gaudy  color,  as  to  jar  on 
nerves  of  any  appreciative  sensitiveness.  Much  has 
recentl}^  been  said  and  written  on  the  subject  of  ceme- 
tery ornamentation,  and  we  may  assume  that  we  are  on 
the  way  to  inculcate  a  better  taste  in  this  respect. 
Although  every  tenent  of  gardening  art  is  habitually  vio- 
lated in  our  cemeteries,  the  most  common  and  disagree- 
able violations  are  doubtless  instances  of  disregard  for 
propriety.  The  matters  introduced  are  not  appropriate 
to  the  place. 

But  this  is  only  a  single  class  of  improprieties,  and 
is  mentioned  chiefly  for  illustration.  Propriety  is  a 
universal  test.  Every  object  and  group  of  objects  must 
submit  to  it.  Thus  we  would  often  consider  an  aviary, 
or  a  zoological  collection,  or  a  suite  of  dog  kennels  inad- 
missible in  a  garden  because  they  were  inappropriate  to 
the  surroundings,  even  though  they  might  be  in  them- 
selves beautiful  and  interesting. 

I  wish  to  speak  here  again  of  a  particular  class  of 
improprieties  to  which  I  have  already  alluded,  namely, 
the  prominent  display  of  monstrous  or  deformed  horti- 
cultural specimens.  Deformity  and  monstrosity  have  a 
strange  fascination  to  uncultured  minds ;  and  there  is 
no  more  unequivocal  testimony  to  a  general  poverty  of 
cultivated  taste  in  gardening  than  the  constantly  recur- 
ring sight  of  such  disfigurements  in  the  gardens  of  peo- 
ple whose  houses  are  furnished  inside  with  scrupulous 
taste  and  propriety.  It  is  surpassingly  strange  that  the 
city  resident,  who  has  room  between  his  house  and  the 
street  for  only  a  single  specimen,  will  choose  for  that 
position  the  one  plant  which  offers  the  most  blemishes, 
as  though  ^sop  were  better  to  look  upon  than  Apollo. 
The  commonest  vagary  of  this  sort  is  the  little  weeping 
tree,  in  which  the  writhing  agonies  of  one  monstrous 
variety  are  grafted  on  the  top  of  some  straight,  cour- 
ageous stock  for  better  exhibition.     As  one  passes  along 


CHARACTER — PROPRIETY.  65 

a  residence  street  in  almost  any  town  seeking  something 
in  the  gardens  to  admire,  how  often  must  he  decide  that 
this  and  that  plant  was  used  for  its  striking  incongrui- 
ties, rather  than  for  its  special  appropriateness.  It 
seems  to  the  present  scribe  that  propriety  is  the  one 
thing  to  be  chiefly  studied  by  that  large  and  needy  class 
of  Americans  who  have  houses  of  their  own  with  small 
grounds  attached.  5 


CHAPTER  Vlll. 

FINISH. 

Both  richness  and  polish  will,  to  a  certain  extent,  be  the 
result  of  keeping.  .  .  .  Extreme  thinness  of  plants  in 
beds  slvirtinga  lawn,  an  inferior  order  of  phmts  in  the  neigh* 
borhood  of  the  house  or  by  the  sides  of  tlie  grass  glades,  and 
tlie  use  of  comnionphice  or  uncongenial  ornaments,  are 
inconsistent  with  richness.  Edward  Kemp. 

No  one  will  have  read  so  far  as  this  chapter  without 
having  observed  the  outline  which  the  text  attempts  to 
follow.  As  indicated  in  that  outline,  it  has  been  con- 
ceived that  there  are  five  distinct  artistic  qualities,  in 
which  any  ornamental  j^lanting  may  be  good  or  bad. 
These  are  unity,  variety,  character,  propriety  and  finish. 
These  are  all  in  some  degree  essential ;  but  it  will  strike 
the  reader  at  once  that  they  are  not  all  equally  impor- 
tant. Those  things  which  are  here  included  under  the 
unsatisfactory  term  ^^ finish,"  are  not  of  such  paiT«mount 
ard  continual  necessity  as  those  discussed  under  unity, 
for  instance.  And  yet  one  may  understand,  without 
puzzling,  that  any  sort  of  an  art  composition  may 
answer  all  the  requirements  thus  far  set  forth,  and  yet 
fail  to  yield  a  due  satisfaction  because  it  lacks  a  pains- 
taking finish.  Besides,  one  may  note  this  defect  in 
the  concrete  Duly  too  easily  among  jiictures,  books  or 
landscapes. 

In  gardening,  finish  means  several  tilings,  some  of 
which  we  may  designate  here.  In  the  first  place,  it 
requires  good  specimens.  All  the  plants  employed  must 
be  good  of  their  kind  ;  the  minor  groups  must  be  good ; 
and  the  masses  must  be  good.  The  individual  plants 
must  be  excellent  in  proportion  to  their  conspicuousness. 
If  41  single  specimen  of  some  rare  and  striking  species 

66 


FINISH.  67 

stand  in  a  prominent  place,  it  cannot  be  permitted  to 
wear  a  decrei^it,  unthrifty,  untidy  appearance.  But 
besides  this,  it  should  have  positive  excellence  to  its 
credit.  It  should  be  a  plant  worth  seeing,  not  merely 
as  a  botanical  curiosity,  but  as  an  example  of  nature's 
best  work. 

Good  care  is  required  to  keep  trees  thrifty,  to  keep 
plants  growing  vigorously  and  luxuriantly.  Cultivation 
and  manure  are  needed.  Pruning  must  be  done. 
Crowded  clumps  must  be  thinned  out.  Sheared  trees 
must  be  kept  sheared,  and  mowed  lawns  must  be  kept 
mowed.  The  walks  and  drives  must  be  kept  graded 
and  surfaced  and  free  from  weeds.  Buildings  must  be 
kept  painted,  and  fences  put  together  and  standing 
straight.  And  dozens  of  similar  matters  demand  con- 
stant attention,  or  directly  the  finish  of  the  composition 
is  marred  and  its  whole  effectiveness  diminished. 

Perhaps  cleanliness  is  only  a  matter  of  good  care; 
but  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  gardener  becomes  so 
absorbed  in  taking  good  care  of  his  shrubs  and  flower 
beds  that  he  forgets  the  general  cleanliness  of  his 
grounds.  In  public  parks  the  lawns  and  walks  rapidly 
become  littered  with  papers  and  rubbish  of  all  sorts, 
and  this  may  quickly  reach  such  a  point  as  to  interfere 
seriously  with  the  satisfaction  of  the  park  habitues.  In 
the  farm  yard,  where  good  attempts  at  ornamental  gar- 
dening are  often  made,  a  proper  regard  for  cleanliness 
would  suggest  that  a  wheelbarrow  should  not  be  left 
standing  in  front  of  the  house  unused  for  a  week,  and 
that  chicken  coops,  dog  kennels,  grindstones  and  other 
agricultural  paraphernalia  should  be  put  behind  the 
main  dwelling  house,  or  at  least  kept  off  the  lawn. 
On  any  grounds  more  or  less  litter  is  bound  to  accu- 
mulate, and  this  may  readily  amount  to  enough  to  spoil 
the  best  studied  effect  of  unity,  variety,  character  and 
propriety. 


68  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

Yet  after  the  landscape  gardener  has  done  every- 
thing within  his  power,  has  gathered  the  last  item  of 
horticultural  excellence,  and  has  disposed  of  it  with  the 
artist's  happiest  effect,  he  is  still  dependent,  in  a  very 
great  measure,  on  the  favor  of  the  unmanageable  ele- 
ments for  the  pleasure  he  may  give  his  patrons.  No 
one  will  see  a  delicately  penciled  sky  line  or  a  softly 
harmonized  background  through  a  blinding  dust  storm  ; 
and  a  bed  of  finest  roses  is  apt  to  look  very  sorry  and 
drabbled  in  the  midst  of  a  cold  rain.  Differences  in 
sunshine,  light  and  atmosphere  make  very  surprising 
differences  in  the  effect  of  certain  views ;  and  as  far  as 
possible,  all  this  should  be  taken  into  account  by  the 
gardener  when  he  makes  his  plan. 

And  besides  the  modifying  influence  which  light 
and  atmosphere  exercise  on  landscape  views,  they  are 
themselves  often  a  very  important  part  of  the  picture. 
Who  cares  to  look  at  any  tiling  else  on  a  day  when  an 
early,  feathery  snow  fills  the  buoyant  atmosphere  with  a 
delightful,  softening,  luminous,  hush-compelling  haze? 
And  sometimes  there  are  clouds  and  a  sunset  as  beauti- 
ful as  the  woods  or  as  sublime  as  the  ocean.  These  do 
not  belong  to  the  gardener,  but  they  may  fit  into  his 
picture,  and  enhance  the  pleasure  which  it  gives;  and 
shall  he  not  appropriate  whatever  of  them  he  can  ? 
Everyone  knows  that  the  landscape  painter  spends  his 
chiefest  pains  to  give  accurate  representations  and  stir- 
ring suggestions  of  light  and  atmosphere  ;  but  the  land- 
scape gardener  has  the  real  commodities  in  unmeasured, 
ever-shifting  variety.  Let  him  make  all  possil)le  use  of 
them,  and  if  the  elements  are  commonly  unjn-opitious, 
as  they  are  in  some  countries,  he  may  have  his  proper 
doubts  about  the  ])racticability  of  undertaking  any  gar- 
dening plans  at  all.  Fortunately  almost  every  country, 
whatever  its  shortcomings,  has  some  good  qualities  of 
climate  which  may  be  studied  and  turned  to  advantage. 


PART  III. 


General  Problems 


CHAPTER  IX. 

EXTKAXCES,    DRIVES   AND   WALKS. 

For  an  approacli  to  be  jrood  there  must  be  an  easy  turn-in 
from  the  higli  road;  tlie  grade  within  the  gate  must  be  as 
uniform  and  as  gentle  as  possible;  there  must  be  no  sharp 
turns;  .  .  .  the  house  must  be  well  displayed  to  advanc- 
ing eyes;  and  the  line  of  gravel  must  not  so  intersect  the 
ground  as  to  interfere  with  a  beautiful  arrangement  of  its 
parts,  or  to  be  itself  a  disagreeable  object  when  seen  from 
the  house.  Mrs,  Van  Rensselaer. 

The  orator  takes  great  pains  that  his  exordium  shall 
be  at  once  a  fitting  introduction  to  his  oration  and  cal- 
culated to  win  the  favor  of  his  audience.  The  comj^oser 
of  an  opera  gives  special  care  to  his  overture,  endeavor- 
ing to  introduce  the  best  themes  of  the  subsequent  score, 
and  to  make  an  agreeable  impression  on  his  hearers.  In 
the  same  way,  when  a  landscape  gardener  pLans  a  con- 
siderable picture  he  tries  to  arrange  it  so  that  the 
ajjproaching  visitor  shall  get  not  only  a  prejudice  in  its 
favor,  but  also  a  fair  suggestion  of  its  character.  Among 
farmers  who  try  to  arrange  their  homes  tastefully,  and 
among  people  who  have  summer  residences  in  the  coun- 
try, the  importance  of  an  appropriate  approach  is  quite 
generally  felt.  In  some  other  lines  of  work, — park- 
making,  for  example, — it  is  sometimes  underestimated. 

When  the  grounds  are  of  any  considerable  size  there 
ought  to  be  an  adequate  (undefined)  entrance  area. 
The  entrance  is  of  some  importance  in  itself,  and  other 
items  in  its  immediate  neighborhood  may  best  be  made 
subordinate  to  it.  Usually  this  area  will  be  more  or  less 
enlarged  by  being  recessed  from  the  outside.  This 
emphasizes  the  entrance,  makes  it  seem  more  hospitably 
inviting,  gives  room  for  a  carriage  turn,  etc.     Usually 

71 


n 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 


there  will  be  a  gateway  of  some  sort ;  and  if  the  vicinity, 
outside  or  inside,  is  full  of  buildings,  the  design  of  tlie 
entrance  will  ])robably  be  architectural  in  its  main  fea- 
tures. There  is  such  an  infinite  variety  of  architectural 
ideas  to  be  worked  out  for  such  places  that  no  general 
suggestions  can  be  made.  For  country  places,  whei'C 
the  entrance  is  made  among  purely  natural  surround- 
ings, considerably  less  of  architectural  effect  is  permissi- 
ble. Some  very  simple,  substantial  stone  work  is  usually 
best.      Downing,    and   the   people  of  his   day,    always 

affected    ^'rustic" 
■^'--^^"^  /-■-/•■ ,       ',^1'^       work — poles  with  the 

bark  on  —  for  such 
places  ;  and  though 
these  sometimes  give 


a  satisfactory  result 
they  are  much  less  in 
vogue  at  the  present. 
It  -is  quite  cus- 
tomary to  make  the 

FIG.  19.     STREET  ENTRANCE.  / 

Destination  unreveciled.  tum-lU,  especially  On 

moderate  sized  places,  at  right  angles  with  the  exterior 
highway.  While  this  arrangement  is  often  best,  it 
might  be  greatly  improved,  in  many  cases,  by  substitut- 
ing a  less  abrupt  turn.  The  main  drive  may  frequently 
be  arranged  to  leave  the  public  way  very  gently  at  an 
acute  angle. 

From  the  entrance  to  the  house  or  other  main  point 
of  interest  the  drive  should  proceed  as  directly  as  possi- 
ble, and  still  be  gracefully  curved.  Its  course  and 
direction  will  be  modified  ciiiefiy  by  the  contour  of  the 
ground.  Sharp  elevations  or  depressions  must  be  alike 
avoided,  by  carrying  the  drive  around  them  ;  but  the 
grade  of  the  drive  must  be  compromised  sometimes  with 
the  course  to  be  adopted,  and  nothing  will  take  the 
place  of  good  judgment  in  doing  this.     The  curve  should 


ENTRANCES,   DRIVES  AND  WALKS. 


73 


be  gentle  and  not  winding.  It  should  reveal  something 
new  at  each  turn.  The  best  view  of  the  house  should  be 
carefully  treated.  Its  own  effect  should  be  reserved  to 
it,  and  not  squandered  on  a  half  dozen  unimpressive  and 
inadequate  views.  If  the  drive  gives  one  good  view,  the 
poor  viewd  ought  to  be  hidden  by  plantings  or  by  the 
course  of  the  road. 

For  very  large  aud  stately  mansions,  or  in  compar- 
atively small  gi-ounds,  the  approach  may  be  straight  and 
lead  directly  to  the  front  of  the  main  building.  Such 
an  arrangement  lends  dignity  to  a  building  which  is  in 
itself  imposing.  Such  an  avenue  of  approach  is  usually 
planted  with  rows  of  trees.     Other  drives,  besides  the 


FIG.  20.     ENTRANCE  TO  A   INULITAKY  PARK,  VERMONT. 


main  approach,  may  be  treated  in  the  same  general  way 
as  walks. 

Walks  and  subsidiary  drives  must  be  provided  where 
people  want  to  walk  or  where  they  expect  to  drive. 
Neither  is  artistic  in  itself.  Every  foot  of  walk  or  drive 
is  a  trouble,  an  expense,  and  usually  a  distinct  detraction 
from  the  artistic  beauty  of  the  place.  They  should,  then, 
be  desio^ned  to  fit  the  actual  demands  of  traffic  about  the 
place.  The  most  practicable  thing  is  often  to  await  the 
most  explicit  call  for  a  walk.  When  a  path  begins  to 
appear  through  the  grass,  the  need  of  a  walk  is  manifest 
and  its  general  direction  pretty  accurately  indicated. 

Gentle  curves  are  better  than  straight  lines,  for 
walks,  except  upon  small  places  or  in  a  geometrical 


74  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

plan.  These  curves  must  be  determined  by  the  exercise 
of  good  taste  and  judgment,  on  the  ground.  A  design 
made  on  paper  is  apt  to  be  very  unsatisfactory  wlien 
transferred  to  tlie  soil,  unless  it  is  made  by  an  experi- 
enced hand  from  an  accurate  topographical  survey. 
Even  then  it  may  nut  fit.  Curves  made  up  of  arcs  of 
circles  are  not  very  satisfactory,  unless  the  arcs  are  com- 
paratively short  and  judiciously  combined.  If  a  road  is 
properly  made,  only  a  very  short  arc  will  be  visible  from 
any  point;  and  this  enables  the  designer,  when  working 
on  the  ground,  to  make  many  curves  and  combinations 
of  curves  which  would  be  decidedly  uni^lcafeing  when 
accurately  platted  on  a  map. 

When  a  walk  or  a  drive  branches,  each  arm  should 
take  such  a  course  as  to  ajipear  to  be  the  proper  contin- 


FIG.  21.     DIVKKGIXG  DrtlVES. 

a,  Correct,    b,  Wrong. 

nation  of  the  trunk.  Imagine  how  one  arm  would  look 
with  the  other  removed.  Would  it  still  be  complete  ? 
Would  the  whole  seem  to  be  the  perfectly  natural  course 
for  the  walk  ?  Such  bifurcations  should  not  be  at  too 
obtuse  an  angle ;  and  yet  this  angle  of  divergence  is  of 
quite  minor  importance  if  the  foregoing  consideration  is 
kept  fully  in  mind. 

Where  several  drives  or  walks  meet,  upon  demand, 
a  suitable  concourse  must  be  provided,  for  at  such  points 
there  is  always  apt  to  be  a  congestion  of  traffic.  The 
size  and  form  of  this  concourse  is  determined  solely  by 
circumstances.  Sometimes  such  a  spot  commands  some 
specially  fine  view.  The  place  may  be  treated,  then, 
with  direct  regard  to  the  outlook.     When  no  desirable 


ENTRANCES,    DRIVES  AND   WALKS.  75 

external  view  is  to  be  exhibited,  the  concourse  area  may 
have  a  special  treatment  of  its  own.  It  may  be  flanked 
by  heavy  plantings  on  part  of  its  circumference,  with 
open  vistas  left  at  the  most  favorable  points.  Or,  if 
near  a  building,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  it  may  be 
treated  as  an  outlying  part  of  the  architect's  work,  and 
made  to  conform  to  it  in  shape  and  ornamentation. 

Walks  must  be  well  drained,  but  should  not  rise 
above  tlie  adjacent  soil  surface.  Neither  should  they  be 
depressed,  much',  if  any,  below  it,  except  for  the  neces- 
sary gutter  at  the  edges.  The  practical  construction  of 
walks  and  drives  is  a  matter  of  immense  importance, 
but  it  belongs  rather  to  engineering  than  to  hindscape 
gardening,  and  besides,  there  is  not  room  here  for  a  dis- 
cussion of  it.  The  principal  •artistic  demands  have, 
however,  been  pointed  out. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE   PLANTIN^G   OF  STREETS  AND   AVENUES. 

The  villages  of  New  England,  looking  at  their  sylvan 
charms,  are  as  beautiful  as  any  in  the  world.  Their  archi- 
tecture is  simple  and  unpretending,-of(en,  indeed,  meager 
and  unworthy  of  notice.  The  houses  are  surrounded  by 
inclosures  full  of  trees  and  shrubs,  with  space  enough  to 
afford  comfort,  and  ornament  enough  to  denote  taste.  But 
the  main  street  of  the  village  is  an  avenue  of  elms,  posi- 
tively delightful  to  behold.  Always  wide,  the  overreaching 
bouglis  form  an  aisle  more  grand  and  beautiful  than  that  of 
any  old  Gotliic  cathedral.  J.  J.  Doiniing. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  treatment  of  streets, 
saying  that  streets  and  avenues,  since  they  manifestly 
follow  geometrical  lines,  demand  a  formal  treatment. 
And  this  formality  ought  to  go  further  than  the  mere 
alignment  of  the  trees.  It  is  still  more  important  that 
the  various  trees  should  be  of  the  same  species  and  of 
the  same  age  and  uniformly  developed.  Not  enough 
pains  is  commonly  taken  to  secure  these  desiderata. 
One  can  easily  satisfy  himself  by  his  own  observations 
anywhere  in  the  United  States  that,  while  street  trees 
are  nearly  always  planted  in  orderly  rows,  it  is  the  some- 
what rare  exception  to  find  a  row  of  really  good  and 
uniform  specimens.  Such  uniformity  is  not  easy  to 
secure,  especially  when  its  importance  is  not  understood 
at  the  outset.  The  only  advice  which  can  be  given  is  to 
exercise  great  care  in  planting  and  the  utmost  vigilance 
during  the  early  years  of  development. 

An  explanation  of  frequent  cases  of  unsatisfactory 
growth  of  young  street  trees  is  to  be  sought  in  the  inad- 
equate feeding  given  them.  If  they  grow  close  to  the 
street  on  one  side  and  to  a  paved  walk  or  row  oi  build- 

70 


PLACING  STREETS  ANB  AVEKtJES.  77 

ings  on  the  other,  their  roots  must  of  course  ramify  for 
many  feet  underneath  these  surface  obstructions.  Aside 
from  this  the  soil  is  apt  to  be  of  the  poorest.  It  is 
hardly  to  be  expected,  in  such  circumstances,  that  a 
thrifty  growth  can  be  secured  without  something  being 
done  to  offset  these  drawbacks.  Liberal  supplies  of  fer- 
tihzers,  especially  potash  salts  and  nitrates,  ought  to  be 
worked  into  the  soil  whenever  the  surface  is  accessible. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  set  street  trees  rather  close 
together  in  the  beginning,  and  to  thin  them  as  they 
grow  and  begin  to  crowd.  This  plan,  however,  demands 
very  conscientious  attention  to  the  thinning,  for  some- 
times it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  heroism  to  cut  out 
strong,  thrifty  trees  along  the  avenue  when  they  are 
only  beginning  to  crowd  their  neighbors  just  a  little. 
But  any  undue  procrastination  is  sure  to  damage  the 
survivors  very  seriously. 

The  distance  between  trees  in  the  row  will  be  influ- 
enced somewhat  by  the  width  of  the  street.  In  a  wide 
street,  where  there  is  room  enough  for  the  full  develop- 
ment of  each  tree,  they  will  be  planted  farther  apart. 
If  the  street  is  wide  enough,  the  trees  should  always 
stand  between  the  walk  and  the  curb.  It  is  wide  enough 
if,  from  curb  to  curb,  tlie  width  is  one  and  a  half  times 
the  distance  recommended  for  the  trees  in  the  rows. 
On  a  narrower  street,  trees  should  stand  between  the 
walk  and  the  buildings  or  should  be  dispensed  with. 
There  are  many  beautiful  streets  in  this  country  which 
support  four  rows  of  trees.  Such  streets  should  have 
the  central  avenue  twice  as  wide  as  the  distance  between 
trees  in  the  row ;  and  the  distance  between  the  two 
rows  on  either  side  should  be  somewhat  less  than  that 
between  trees. 

If,  now,  we  are  seeking  a  formal  effect  in  our  rows 
of  street  trees,  it  follows  that  this  effect  will  be  empha- 
sized by  trees  which  naturally  assume  somewhat  formal 


78 


LANDSCAPE  GAEDENING. 


FIG.  22.     A  AVELL  PLANTED  STllEET. 

Royal  I'lilms,  near  Havana. 


PLANTING  STREETS  AND  AVENUES.  79 

shapes.  It  will  not  do  to  press  this  point  too  far,  but  it 
should  have  careful  thought.  We  have  all  seen  strik- 
ingly beautiful  rows  of  the  very  formal  Lombardy  pop- 
lar, and  the  effect  of  dignity  given  by  an  avenue  of 
palms  leaves  an  impression  not  to  be  forgotten. 

The  American  elm  is  doubtless  the  commonest 
street  tree  in  America.  It  has  many  undeniably  good 
qualities  to  recommend  it.  The  grounds  about  Harvard 
and  Yale  could  not  possibly  spare  their  rows  of  elms, 
and  there  are  hundreds  of  other  streets  in  all  parts  of 
the  country  which  would  be  desolate  indeed  if  all  the 
elms  had  to  go.  And  yet  there  are  serious  objections  to 
the  elm  as  a  street  tree,  besides  the  fact  that  it  is  often 
defoliated  by  caterpillars  of  various  species,  as,  indeed, 
are  many  other  trees.  The  elm  varies  greatly  in  size 
and  form,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find  a  long 
street  of  old  elms  which  does  not  suffer  from  the  sad 
lack  of  uniformity  which  this  variability  introduces. 
The  elm  is,  also,  one  of  the  least  formal  of  our  trees, 
and  so  detracts  from  the  unity  of  the  geometrical  idea 
in  street  planting.  It  would  be  silly  to  advise  j^lanters 
to  discard  the  elm  altogether ;  but  it  will  not  be  too 
much  to  suggest  that  some  other  species  should  always 
be  duly  considered. 

The  mai:>les  are  excellent  street  trees,  especially  the 
sugar  maple,  and  many  admirable  examples  of  their 
effectiveness  are  to  be  found  in  the  northern  states. 
Tiie  sugar  maple  is  a  strong,  healthy  grower,  with  a 
regular,  clear-cut  outline,  and  has  the  advantage  of  a 
very  tidy  appearance  through  the  winter  months.  In 
southwestern  states  the  soft  maple,  or  silver  maple  (Acer 
dcmjcarpum),  takes  the  place  of  the  sugar  maple,  but  is 
not  so  good  a  tree. 

The  American  sycamore  is  one  of  our  finest  street 
trees  in  many  situations.  Anyone  who  does  not  know 
how  beautiful  this  species  is  should  study  the  effects  pro- 


go  land$cap:E3  gardeking. 

duced  by  ifc  in  Washington,  especially  in  the  magnificent 
avenues  just  west  of  the  Capitol.  The  sycamore  does 
not  succeed  north  of  Massachusetts  and  central  New 
York,  but  for  the  greater  part  of  the  United  States  it  is 
worth  careful  consideration. 

Other  species  which  are  sometimes  used  with  happy 
results  are  honey  locust,  Kentucky  coffee  tree,  pines 
and  S2iruces.  There  is  a  most  striking  and  beautiful 
avenue  of  ginkgo  trees  in  Washington  leading  to  tlie 
Department  of  Agriculture  ;  and  there  are  some  pretty 
rows  of  aihmthus  about  the  Temple  square  in  Salt  Lake 
City.  Occasionally  one  will  find  an  avenue  of  oaks,  and 
if  it  is  a  good  one  tliere  are  few  trees  more  satisfactory. 
Poplars,  especially  the  Cottonwood,  are  used  in  tlie  trans- 
Mississippi  states,  but  tliey  are  usually  a  ])oor  makeshift. 
It  is  always  very  gratifying  to  find  a  good  street  of  trees 
of  an  unusual  species,  and  this  is  a  thing  which  the 
street  makers  might  well  hold  in  remembrance. 


CHAPTER  XL 

WATER,   AND  ITS  TREATMENT. 

The  water  surfaces  of  a  park  need  more  study  and  care 
to  make  them  appear  natural  in  outline  tlian  does  the  gen- 
eral ground  surface  of  tlie  park.  John  C.  Olmsted, 

Spaces  of  clear  surface  among  water  plants,  with  undis- 
turbed reflections,  are  particularly  necessary  to  secure  the 
best  effects.  Samuel  Parsons,  Jr. 

The  artistic  possibilities  of  any  place  are  almost 
doubled  with  the  iutrodnction  of  a  fair  amount  of  water 
surface.  Water  gardening  gives  room  for  almost  as 
rich  a  variety  of  plants  and  plant  combinations  as  does 
the  open  ground.  There  are  still  ponds,  broad  reaches 
of  river,  trickling  brooks,  playing  fountains,  and  many 
other  general  forms  of  expression  which  water  may 
assume ;  and  in  each  case  new  opportunities  are  offered 
to  the  plant  lover. 

The  water  itself  is  one  of  the  most  effective  elements 
of  any  picture.  A  painted  landsca2:>e  is  hardly  complete 
without  a  touch  of  water  somewhere.  And  a  public 
park  would  probably  be  considered  seriously  deficient 
without  some  kind  of  a  lake.  The  restful  and  quieting 
influences  of  rural  scenery  are  peculiarly  enhanced  by 
stietchcs  of  still  water.  The  very  best  effect  is  gained 
when  the  grounds  are  so  fortunately  situated  as  to  give 
a  good  view  of  a  long  reach  of  river,  or  a  broad  lake,  or 
of  the  ocean.  This  consideration  is  so  cogent  as  to 
determine  the  location  of  a  very  large  proportion  of 
summer  residences.  They  seem  to  be  gregarious  along 
the  seaside  and  on  all  the  lake  shores.  This  effective- 
ness of  water  pictures  rests  upon  a  primitive  human 
instinct  which  has  been  strengthened  rather  than 
6  81 


LANDSCAPE   GARDEifll^G. 


^  o 


WATER   AND   ITS  TREATMENT.  83 

impaired  by  the  conventions  of  civilization.  For  every 
reason,  then,  stress  must  be  laid  upon  the  value  of  such 
water  views.  They  must  be  sought,  preserved  and  sym- 
pathetically displayed. 

When  the  point  of  view  is  at  the  water's  edge  the 
water  forms  the  entire  picture, — excepting,  of  course, 
the  background  of  trees  or  mountains  which  may  be 
beyond  it.  But  when,  as  usual,  the  house,  or  the  path, 
or  the  drive  is  some  distance  from  the  shore,  the  treat- 
ment of  the  intervening  foreground  becomes  a  delicate 
and  important  matter.  Tlie  gardener  who  would  jilant 
a  coleus  bed  on  the  sea  beach  would  properly  be  sent  to 
the  insane  asylum  ;  but  any  other  gaudy  or  trivial  piece 
of  work  put  into  the  foreground  would  be  as  inexcusable. 
To  give  the  water  best  effect  the  space  between  it  and 
the  observer  should  be  obstructed  the  least  possible. 
Usually  it  will  be  in  grass.  It  will  be  only  moderately 
undulating.  A  perfectly  flat  surface  and  broken  ground 
are  equally  to  be  avoided.  The  view  should  then  be  set 
off  at  the  sides  by  large  trees,  if  possible.  Nothing  else 
answers  quite  so  well.  If  they  can  be  arranged  so  as 
to  be  seen  in  a  long  and  varied  perspective,  they  will 
be  the  more  satisfactory.  It  is  impossible  to  give  an 
exact  prescription  for  the  treatment  of  all  such  cases, 
for  a  good  result  depends  on  the  tasteful  management 
of  delicate  details ;  and  yet,  in  the  greater  number 
of  these  very  common  water  views,  the  landscape  gar- 
dener has  choice  of  only  a  limited  number  of  devices, 
the  principal  considerations  of  which  have  here  been 
pointed  out. 

The  small  pond,  comprehended  entirely  within  the 
grounds  under  treatment,  offers  quite  another  series  of 
problems.  If  it  is  large  enough  to  give  some  pictorial 
effect,  there  will  naturally  be  arranged  a  series  o2 
glimpses  and  completer  views  from  various  advantageous 
points,  mostly  near  its  banks.     These  will,  however,  be 


84 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENING, 


C  ■=> 

K   a; 


WATEE  AND  ITS  TREATMENT  86 

chiefly  glimpses,  and  are  to  be  treated  accordingly, — not 
with  the  same  dignity  and  seriousness  which  are  given  to 
larger  views,  though  in  general  the  plan  of  treatment 
will  be  a  sort  of  miniature  of  that  already  described. 

Besides  this,  the  small  pond  offers  wonderful  oppor- 
tunities for  planting.  Sedges,  cat-tails,  lotuses,  water 
lilies,  alders  and  many  other  plants  are  especially  suitable 
to  the  banks  and  shallow  water  of  ponds.  Very  fine  effects 
can  be  arranged  with  them.  The  outline  of  a  pond  may 
be  tastefully  broken,  so  that  what  would  otherwise  look 
like  a  mere  cup  in  the  ground  becomes  a  necessary  and 
integral  part  of  tlie  whole  composition.  The  grass 
should  come  down  to  the  water  in  places.  In  other 
parts  a  fringe  of  overhanging  alders  may  form  the  out- 
line. Still  further  along  the  sedges  and  cat-tails  may 
jut  far  out  into  the  still  water.  It  is  hard  to  spoil  such 
a  picture. 

If  some  of  the  trees  along  the  pond  shore  are  situ- 
ated so  as  to  cast  their  reflections  upon  the  water,  their 
effect  will  be  more  than  doubled.  Everyone  knows 
what  a  pleasing  touch  such  reflections  give  to  a  picture. 
But  the  trees  must  not  be  of  the  unquiet  sort,  like  some 
of  the  willows,  always  shivering  and  shimmering  in  the 
breeze,  for  the  pond  must  be  still  and  the  images  on  its 
surface  must  be  still.  It  is  the  quietness  and  peaceful- 
ness  of  such  a  picture  which  attract  us,  and  we  are  very 
sensitive  of  even  the  slightest  interference.  And  yet 
some  of  the  statelier  willows,  especially  the  heavier  weep- 
ing willows,  make  excellent  pond  borders.  Ash  trees, 
and  sycamores  with  thorns,  and  viburnums,  and  many 
more  such  things,  enter  helpfully  into  such  effects. 

The  small  rivulet  does  not  seem  to  enjoy  the  favor 
which  its  comparative  merits  would  justify.  It  cannot 
become  a  part  of  the  same  sedate  and  serious  pictures 
which  depend  so  much  on  large  sheets  of  water ;  but  it 
has  an  equal  degree  of  efficiency  in  its  own  way.     When 


86 


LANDSCAPE   GARDEiflNG. 


WATER   AN^D  ITS  TREATMENT.  87 

the  andscape  approaches  that  character  which  Andr6 
calls  "gay,"*  nothing  can  be  more  appropriate  than 
the  glancing,  glimmering,  vanishing,  changing  glimpses 
of  running  water  in  a  small  brook.  Such  a  brook  should 
be  wooded,  and  among  the  trees  should  be  loose  tangles 
of  vines,  shrubbery,  brambles  and  brakes.  Eocky  imped- 
iments in  the  bed  of  the  brook,  if  the  character  of  the 
ground  will  justify  them,  give  little,  tinkhng  cascades 
where  the  sunlight  flushes.  Here  and  there  a  calmer 
pool  may  grow  some  rushes  or  lily  pads.  And  every 
turn  gives  a  change  of  view,  and  every  change  of  view  a 
new  delight. 

A  good  brook  offers,  indeed,  a  multitude  of  oppor- 
tunities for  delightful  landscape  gardening.  It  is  unfor- 
tunate that  such  opportunities  are  sometimes  wholly 
neglected. 

**'Le  genre  gai  on  riant.  .  .  .  s'appliqne  gdn^ralement  k  des 
scenes  champetres,  pastorales,  doucement  anim^es,  vari«^es,  qtii  con- 
stituent la  grande  majority  des  cadres  dans  lesqiiels  le  talent  du  des- 
sinateur  est  appele  a  s'exercer."— Andre,  L'Art  des  Jardins,  138. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  CITY  OR  SUBURBAN  LOT. 

The  fact  is,  the  easiest  way  to  spoil  a  good  lawn  is  to  put 
a  flower  bed  on  it;  and  the  most  effective  way  to  slxow  off 
flowers  to  least  advantage  is  to  plant  them  in  a  bed  in  tlie 
greensward.  L.  H.  Bailey. 

In  the  planting  of  city  and  suburban  residence 
grouuds  there  seems  to  be  the  largest  field  ior  improve- 
ment in  this  country.  One  sees  in  such  places  more 
exhibitions  of  execrable  bad  taste  than  anywhere  else,  to 
be  sure ;  but  such  things  indicate  the  willingness  and 
the  energy  to  do  something,  and  taste  often  improves  as 
work  goes  on.  Those  people  who  own  their  grounds  in 
the  towns  and  suburban  districts  are  the  truest  home 
lovers  in  the  nation  ;  and  as  a  class  they  have  the  means, 
the  desire  and  the  taste, — often  uneducated  in  this  par- 
ticular line, — ^for  home  improvement.  Still  there  is 
much  too  little  done  in  the  way  of  gardening  or  of  any 
tasteful  amelioration  of  the  grounds. 

While  the  housebuilder  gladly  puts  13,000  or  $20,000 
into  his  house,  he  regards  $50  or  $100  as  ample  outlay 
for  the  ornamentation  of  the  surrounding  grounds. 
And  while  he  is  sure  to  employ  an  architect  and  pay 
him  $100  to  $500  for  planning  the  house,  he  does  not 
think  of  consulting  a  landscape  gardener  to  design  the 
surfacings  and  plantings,  but  leaves  such  things  to  the 
cheap  day  laborer  Avho  mows  the  lawn  or  takes  care  of 
the  stable.  These  things  make  it  obvious  that  the  gen- 
tle art  of  gardening  has  not  yet  gained  a  proper  appre- 
ciation from  all  those  who  should  be  its  votaries. 

The  first  great  question  to  be  decided,  in  laying  out 
the  grounds  of  a  moderate-sized  city  home,  is  whether 

88 


THE  CITY  OE  SUBURBAN"  LOT.  89 

a  fine  effect  from  the  street  shall  be  sought,  or  a  com- 
fortable outdoor  privacy  be  secured  to  the  residents. 
On  large  grounds  both  these  desiderata  may  be  secured  ; 
but  on  small  lots  one  must  be  sacrificed.  The  good,  old 
fashioned  English  style  of  securing  privacy  in  small 
places, — a  method  adopted  by  many  citizens  of  a  former 
period  in  America, — is  to  have  a  thick,  high  hedge  all 
along  the  front.  One  still  sees  numbers  of  such  hedges 
of  arbor  vitae,  or  privet,  or  mulberry,  completely  screen- 
ing the  house  and  grounds  from  the  street.  Such  an 
arrangement  has  its  very  simple  and  substantial  advan- 
tages, and  if  it  is  to  be  adopted  there  is  no  further  advice 
to  be  given,  except  to  choose  a  thrifty  species  for  the 
hedge  and  keep  it  cleaned  and  well  pruned. 

A  practicable  modification  of  this  method,  but  one 
not  often  seen,  is  to  plant  a  somewhat  irregular  screen 
of  mixed  trees  and  shrubs  and  herbaceous  materials. 
Such  a  screen  can  be  arranged  in  the  same  general  way 
as  an  ordinary  border  planting,  except  that  it  will  usu- 
ally face  in  two  directions.  This  will  shield  the  com- 
pany on  the  lawn  from  the  passers  along  the  street,  and 
will,  at  the  same  time,  give  opportunity  for  the  intro- 
duction of  an  indefinite  variety  of  ornamental  plants, 
some  of  which  are  visible  from  the  street  and  some  from 
the  house  and  lawn. 

But  a  ^reat  many  people  do  not  live  much  on  the 
lawn,  or  prefer  for  other  reasons  to  make  the  grounds  a 
setting  for  the  house  in  such  a  way  that  the  whole  shall 
give  the  best  possible  effect  from  the  street.  In  such 
cases  there  come  into  play  all  the  principles  of  taste 
which  govern  gardening  anywhere.  As  in  other  garden- 
ing operations,  unity  is  most  to  be  regarded.  It  is  often 
violated  to  excess.  Many  city  gardens  are  only  aggrega- 
tions of  unrelated  and  incompatible  features  picked  up 
here  and  yonder  because  they  struck  the  passing  fancy 
of  the  collector.     A  good  plan  should  be  made  and  fol- 


90 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENING, 


THE   CITY   OR   SUBURBAN   LOT.  91 

lowed.  This  plan  should  be  upon  very  simple  lines, — 
the  simpler  as  the  grouiuls  are  smaller.  It  is  here,  more 
than  elsewhere,  imperative  that  the  center  of  the  lawn 
in  front  of  the  house  be  kept  open.  If  the  grounds  are 
small,  the  space  will  seem  to  be  increased  by  placing  the 
house  at  one  side  and  comparatively  far  from  the  street. 
And  then,  if  it  may  be  done  without  sacrificing  the 
appearance  of  directness,  the  front  walk  may  also  be  car- 
ried to  one  side,  leaving  the  main  laAvn  intact  and  very 
much  augmented  in  its  apparent  extent.  The  plantings 
are  then  made  in  irregular  borders  along  the  sides  of 
the  lot  and  at  the  back,  with  more  or  fewer  herbs  and 
shrubs  and  climbers  against  the  porches  and  the  founda- 
tions of  the  house  itself,  according  to  its  architectural 
character.  Mistakes  specially  to  be  avoided  in  such  a 
scheme  of  treatment  are  formal  flower  beds  in  tlie  lawn, 
detached  shrubs,  horticultural  monstrosities  of  all  sorts, 
conspicuous  edgings  along  walks,  noticeably  imperfect 
specimens  of  any  kind,  etc. 

So  far  we  have  considered  the  treatment  of  the  city 
residence  lot  in  accordance  with  the  natural  style  of 
gardening.  Circumstances  are  often  such  as  to  make  a 
geometrical  treatment  even  more  desirable.  In  fact, 
the  tendency  in  this  country  is  so  strong  toward  the 
natural  method  of  planting  that  many  excellent  oppor- 
tunities for  fine  effects  in  the  opposite  method  are 
ignored.  The  prospective  planter  of  small  grounds, 
wlio  has  not  yet  formed  decided  preferences  for  the  nat- 
ural style,  is  strongly  recommended  to  bring  himself  to 
the  clearest  possible  appreciation  of  the  beauties  and 
capabilities  of  the  geometrical  style  before  he  commits 
himself  to  any  particular  jilan. 

In  treating  the  small  city  lot  according  to  the  for- 
mal style,  the  ground  is  first  laid  out  in  purely  geomet- 
rical lines.  There  are  straight  walks,  and  rectangular 
or  circular  areas  for  grass  or  plants ;  and  if  terraces  are 


92  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

necessary,  they  are  laid  out  so  that  their  lines  form  a 
part  of  the  general  framework.  Then  the  hedges  which 
are  to  be  clipped,  the  formal  flower  beds,  and  the 
other  accessories  of  tliis  style  of  gardening  are  filled  in 
upon  the  plan,  according  to  the  princii^les  laid  down  in 
Chapter  III. 

Special  caution  must  be  given  the  suburban  resident 
and  amateur  gardener  against  planting  too  much  of  too 
many  things.  Everyone  knows  how  easy  it  is  to  over- 
furnish  a  room  ;  but  few  realize  how  much  easier  it  is  to 
over-furnish  a  lawn.  The  flower-loving  suburban  gar- 
dener wants  everything  in  the  nurseryman's  catalog; 
and  such  an  appetite  is  a  blessing  only  when  properly 
restrained.  Perhaps  it  will  be  an  acceptable  hint  to  say 
that  more  things  may  be  grown  in  tasteful  arrangement 
within  a  small  compass  by  close  planting  of  herbaceous 
or  semi-herbaceous  annuals  and  perennials  in  irregular 
borders,  than  by  any  system  of  bedding  or  nursery 
crowding  such  as  is  commonly  practiced  on  small  places. 
Many  diverse  sorts  of  plants  thus  forced  into  company 
give  a  fine  example  of  the  universal  struggle  for  exist- 
ence, and  of  the  mutual  ada2)tations  to  which  such  an 
encounter  gives  rise.  The  nasturtiums  will  clamber  up 
the  strong  stems  of  the  sunflowers  ;  the  petunias  will 
look  out  from  under  the  castor  beans,  and  the  verbenas 
from  under  the  petunias ;  the  yellow  coreopsis  will  min- 
gle freely  with  the  blue  pentstemons,  and  over  all  will 
tower  the  hollyhocks,  the  heleniums  and  the  rudbeckias. 
Give  them  plenty  of  food,  an  abundance  of  water, 
and  constant,  sympathetic  interest,  and  how  they  will 
grow,  and  what  a  jolly  place  it  will  be  !  This  is  where 
many  a  successful  business  man  recruits,  all  summer 
long,  his  flagging  energies  by  daily  relaxation  among  his 
shrubs  and  flowers  and  family. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  orn"amentatio:n"  of  farmyards. 

We  would  have  the  cottage,  the  farmhouse  and  the  larger 
country  house,  all  marked  by  a  somewhat  distinctive  char- 
acter of  their  own,  so  far  as  relates  to  making  them  com- 
plete and  individual  of  tlieir  kind  ;  and  believinjif,  as  we  do, 
that  the  beauty  and  force  of  every  true  man's  life  or  occu- 
pation depend  largely  on  his  pursuing  it  frankly,  honestly, 
openly,  with  all  the  individuality  of  his  character,  we  would 
have  his  house  and  home  help  to  give  significance  to,  and 
dignify,  that  daily  life  and  occupation,  by  harmonizing  witli 
them.  For  tliis  reason  we  tliink  the  farmer  errs  when  he 
copies  the  filiirree  worlc  of  the  retired  citizen's  cottage, 
instead  of  showing  tliat  rustic  strength  and  solidity  in  his 
house  wliich  are  its  true  elements  of  interest  and  beauty. 

A.  J.  Dowmng. 

Everyone  must  some  time  have  felt  a  shock  at  com- 
ing upon  a  city  house  in  the  country.  Such  houses  are, 
fortunately,  rare ;  but  they  are  not  unknown.  There 
will  be  the  house  of  complicated  architecture,  with 
gables,  and  porticoes  and  loggias,  and  porte-cochere  ; 
and  there  will  be  all  the  other  accompaniments  to  give 
a  thoroughly  urban  air  to  the  whole  place.  And  most 
persons  will  feel  instinctively  what  an  impropriety 
such  a  composition  presents.  The  country  house  must 
have  a  thoroughly  rural  air.  The  owner  has  hardly 
the  choice  of  any  other  plan.  And  to  give  a  rural 
atmosphere  some  sort  of  naturalistic  treatment  of  the 
grounds  will  be  necessary. 

This  naturalistic  treatment,  on  account  of  the  con- 
siderations already  hinted  at,  ought  to  be  on  a  compar- 
atively large  scale.  This  is  usually  possible,  for  the 
farm  can  commonly  spare  whatever  room  is  required  for 
the  homestead  and  its  immediate  dependencies.  In 
those  rather  too  common  cases  in  which  the  house  and 

93 


94  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

gardens  are  of  mean  extent  or  are  crowded  into  the  high- 
way, the  trouble  has  arisen,  not  tlirongh  parsimony  of 
room,  bnt  simply  through  thonghtlessness  of  the  needs 
of  the  farm  home.  A  farmhouse  ought  to  have  plenty 
of  room ;  and  if  the  grounds  have  already  been  laid  out 
so  as  not  to  leave  ample  space,  the  best  thing  that  can 
be  done  is  to  reconstruct  them  altogether,  or  so  far  as 
may  be  necessary  to  gain  a  free  and  roomy  farmyard. 

A  farmhouse  ought  to  be  comparatively  remote 
from  the  road.  The  distance  will  vary  according  to  the 
hight  of  the  house,  the  slope  of  the  land,  the  taste  of 
the  builder,  and  other  circumstances ;  but  the  distance 
ought  not  to  be  less  than  three  times  the  hight  of  the 
house,  or  more  if  the  ground  slopes  upward  from  the 
street.  If  the  house  is  put  some  distance  back  into  the 
grounds,  as  is  sometimes  very  desirable,  and  has  an 
approach  of  its  own,  the  main  view  of  the  house  ought 
still  to  be  given  at  a  distance  something  greater  than 
three  times  the  hight  of  the  house. 

This  is  not  a  work  on  architecture,  but  it  may  not 
be  out  of  place  to  make  a  few  brief  suggestions  respect- 
ing the  farmhouse  itself.  Generally  some  very  simple 
plan  of  architecture  is  to  be  preferred.  A  sharp  or 
much  broken  roof  is  especially  to  be  avoided.  Porches 
ought  to  be  wide,  and  their  floors  not  high  from  the 
ground,  especially  if  the  place  be  level.  City  dwellers 
affect  high  porches  and  second-story  balconies  for  the 
sake  of  the  privacy  they  give ;  but  privac}/  is  more  easily 
secured  on  a  farm.  Country  houses  are  often  painted 
white,  and  sometimes  the  result  is  fairly  agreeable. 
Usually  some  other  color  w  ill  give  a  better  effect,  how- 
ever,— some  slaty,  or  grayish,  or  other  neutral  shade, — 
for  white  surfaces  mar  the  rural ity  of  the  general  effect. 

A  farmyard  witliout  some  large  shade  trees  is  a  very 
unsatisfactory  affair.  This  needs  hardly  to  be  men- 
tioned.    The  more  common  evil  is  an  over-indulgence  of 


ORNAMENTATION   OF  FARMYARDS. 


95 


this  craying  for  shade  trees ;  and  there  are  many  houses 
badly  shadowed  and  shut  in,  and  many  yards  cramped 
and  crowded  by  twice  or  thrice  the  number  of  large 
trees  which  the  place  ought  to  support.  The  ax  is  the 
remedy  for  such  cases.  The  remedy  is,  indeed,  very 
hard  to  apply  to  trees  which  have  become  old  friends, 
but  the  improvement  will  be  worth  all  the  sorrow  which 
comes  with  it.  The  best  way  of  all  is  to  make  such 
thinnings  very  much  earlier  in  the  development  of  the 


FIG.  27.     SUGOESTIOX    FOR  A    FAR^MYARD. 

a%a,  Siigrar  maples ;  h  b,  slirubbery  ;  c,  climbers  on  i>oieli ;  d,  hawthorn ; 
e  e,  elms  ;  /,  basswood  or  horse-chestnut;  g  (j,  sycamores. 

grounds,  and  then  there  is  likely  to  be  much  less  grief 
in  the  family. 

To  produce  the  rural,  naturalistic  -effect  here  recom- 
mended, there  should  be  a  liberal  use  of  shrubs.  And 
for  the  most  part,  the  common  native  shrubs  of  the 
woods  and  fields  are  much  superior  to  tlie  finest  exotics. 
Those  things  which  are  so  common  as  to  be  slightingly 
passed  by  are  often  the  very  best.  Buck-berries,  snow- 
berries,  alders,  elders,  dogwoods,  wild  roses,  the  flower- 


96  LANDSCAPE   GAIiDEKINO. 

ing  raspberry,  and  many  others  which  are  always  ready 
to  the  hand,  should  be  planted  in  profusion.  If  they 
prove  to  be  too  thick,  tliey  may  be  thinned  out  as  they 
grow ;  but  it  is  very  seldom  that  such  a  necessity  arises. 
Of  course,  many  of  the  nurseryman's  shrubs  are  well 
worth  having,  and  may  be  added  as  occasion  requires 
and  means  permit. 

In  connection  with  shrubs,  a  great  many  hardy 
perennials  may  be  used  to  advantage.  These  are  more 
fully  discussed  in  another  place.  Annual  flowering 
plants  are  not  very  useful  or  ajipropriate  in  the  ordinary 
front  yard,  though  they  may  be  grown  in  any  quantity 
in  the  side  borders  if  desired.  Such  flowering  plants 
are  usually  grown  for  the  blossoms  themselves  rather 
than  for  anything  they  contribute  to  the  general  effect ; 
and  their  end  is  then  best  served  if  they  can  be  culti- 
vated in  a  sepanite  garden  plot,  behind  the  house  or  at 
one  side,  enclosed  somewhere,  or  in  connection  with  the 
kitchen  garden.  In  this  latter  situation  they  are  likely 
to  receive  better  culture  and  more  fertilizer,  and  to  give 
correspondingly  larger  crops  of  finer  blossoms. 

A  fence  about  the  farmyard  is  frequently  a  positive 
necessity,  but  it  need  not  be  a  whitewashed  picket  fence. 
The  less  conspicuous  it  be,  the  better ;  and  some  sort  of 
hedge,  of  arbor  vitse,  holly,  privet,  or  similar  materials, 
is  much  to  be  preferred.  The  plan  shown  in  Fig. 
27,  for  a  farmyard,  is  offered  merely  as  a  suggestion, 
and  should  not  be  copied.  The  chief  features  to  which 
attention  should  be  directed  are  the  open  space  in  front 
of  the  house,  the  limited  number  of  large  trees,  and  the 
shrubbery  at  the  sides. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  AMELIORATION"   OF    SCHOOL   GROUNDS. 

We  liave  an  ideal  picture,  tliat  refreshes  our  imagina- 
tion, of  common  schoolliouses  scattered  all  over  our  wide 
country,  not  wild  V)ediams  which  seem  to  the  traveler  i>la;;ue 
sj)ots  on  the  fair  country  landscape,  but  little  nests  of  ver- 
dure and  beauty;  embryo  Arcadias,  that  beget  tastes  for 
lovely  gardens,  neat  houses  and  well  cultivated  lands. 

A.  J.  Downing. 

Ifc  would  seem  as  tliougli  the  grounds  about  a  school 
building  stood  in  special  need  of  such  means  of  refine- 
ment as  trees  and  shrubs.  But  we  know  how  often, 
especially  in  the  cities,  they  have  not  the  room  even  for 
green  grass. 

But  supposing  we  have  one  of  those  fortunate  subur- 
ban or  rund  schools,  whose  founders  have  had  the  fore- 
sight and  the  benevolence  to  reserve  for  it  some  more 
adequate  grounds,  what  can  Ave  do  in  the  way  of  orna- 
mentation ?  Obviously,  fancy  gardening  with  expensive 
plants  is  out  of  tlie  question.  Something  simple  must 
be  undertaken,  and  usually  something  inexj^ensivc. 
If  the  circumstances  of  soil  and  climate  and  the  attendance 
of  the  school  will  permit  its  maintenance,  a  good  turf  is 
most  to  be  desired.  But  in  many  places  this  will  be 
tramped  to  pieces;  and  then  some  sort  of  paving  ought 
to  be  provided, — gravel,  or  sand  or  stone. 

If  a  school  yard  can  have  a  few  large  trees  they  will 
always  be  greatly  prized  by  everyone.  Their  value  is  so 
great  that,  in  places  having  the  room,  very  considerable 
pains  should  be  taken  to  supply  them.  Usually  it  is 
best  to  plant  the  largest  trees  possible.  Thousands  of  our 
American  schools  celebrate  an  Arbor  day.  Usually  the 
trees  planted  on  such  occasions  are  considerable  in  num- 
7  07 


98  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

ber,  Diit  inconsiderable  in  size.  Most  of  them  succumb 
to  various  casualties  before  the  end  of  term  time,  and  the 
remainder  die  of  neglect  during  vacation.  If  the  same 
work  were  ai)plied  to  the  planting  of  one  or  two  large 
trees, — twelve,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high,  with  suffi- 
ciently good  roots, — the  chances  of  success,  under  the 
circumstances,  would  be  greater. 

Shrubs  can  be  used  to  advantage  on  school  grounds 
along  back  boundaries,  especially  against  fences.  Good, 
thrifty  native  species,  like  dogwood,  hawthorn,  and 
even  the  wild  bramble,  will  add  greatly  to  the  looks  of 
the  premises  by  relieving  them  of  that  cheerless,  depress- 
ing barrenness  which  too  commonly  characterizes  the 
schoolhouse  lot.  Attention  will  need  be  given  that 
such  shrubbery  borders  do  not  become  unsightly  by  the 
accumulation  of  litter,  but  no  other  special  care  or  cul- 
tivation will  be  required. 

One  often  hears  it  argued,  how  nice  and  proper  it 
would  be  to  grow  flowering  plants  and  plants  of  eco- 
nomic interest  on  the  school  grounds.  There  is  a  very 
sufficient  multitude  of  reasons  why  this  is  seldom  possi- 
ble, but  the  idea  is  admirable  and  one  to  be  encour- 
aged. If  such  good  things  seem  to  be  within  reach,  the 
garden  beds  will  best  be  put  along  the  back  and  side 
borders.  It  is  possible  in  such  situations,  and  under 
favorable  conditions,  to  cultivate  narrow  bods,  laid  out 
in  a  manner  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  most  of  the  romp- 
in  p^  play  which  occupies  the  main  grounds.  But  for  all 
such  plantings  the  hardy  perennials  are  to  be  recom- 
mended above  the  annuals,  other  things  being  equal. 

The  great  difficulties  in  the  way  ought  not  to 
deter  school  boards,  teachers  and  patrons  from  using 
their  best  efforts  to  ameliorate,  as  much  as  possible,  the 
uninviting  blankness  of  the  ordinary  school  grounds, 
especially  in  view  of  the  very  manifest  desirability  of 
such  improvement. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

somethi:n"g  about  public  parks. 

Contact  with  and  contemplation  of  natural  scenery, 
especially  of  pastoral  scenery,  bring  positive  refreshment 
to  the  mind.  Green  pastures  and  si  ill  waters  now,  as  in  the 
days  of  the  Hebrew  poet,  restore  the  soul.  This  is  a  funda- 
mental   truth,  and,  'therefore,  it   has    profound    practical 


importance. 


W.  A.  Stiles. 


It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  value  of  charming 
natural  scenery  lies  wholly  in  the  inducement  which  it  pre- 
sents to  a  chaiiy:e  of  mental  occupations,  exercise  and  air- 
taking.  Besides  and  above  this,  it  acts  in  a  strictly  remedial 
way  to  enable  men  to  resist  the  harmful  Influences  of  ordi- 
nary town  life.  ...  It  is  thus  a  sanative  agent  of  vital 
importance.  ^-  J-  Olmsted. 

There  seems  to  be  a  very  considerable  misapprehen- 
sion and  inappreciation  of  the  uses  of  a  public  park. 
In  fact,  a  majority  of  people  would  probably  say,  if 
pressed  to  express  their  true  feelings,  that,  personally, 
they  could  do  very  well  without  the  parks.  Parks  and 
public  gardens  are  generally  felt  to  be  a  luxury,  and 
suitable  for  the  edification  chiefly  of  people  of  leisure. 
On  second  thought,  however,  anyone  must  see  the  mis- 
takenness  of  such  views,  though  it  is  still  very  difficult 
to  demonstrate  tlie  practical  utility  of  public  parks  to 
the  skeptic. 

First  of  all,  city  parks  have  been  likened  to  lungs, 
which  help  to  purify  the  air  and  so  make  breathing  less 
hazardous.  Tliose  who  know  how  difficult  it  is  in  the 
city  t  get  i)ure  water  or  pure  air  will  know  how  real 
such  .:  benefit  is.  Perhaps  the  country  visitor,  who  is 
used  to  clean  air  with  plenty  of  oxygen  in  it,  is  most 
oppressed  by  the  snuffy,  dusty,  filthy  stuff  he  has  to 
breathe  when  occasionally  lie  comes  to  town.     But  such 


100  LANDSCAPE  GAllDENIN-Q. 

air  is  doubtless  quite  as  harmful  to  those  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  it  as  to  tliose  who  notice  it  more.  It  must  be 
regarded  as  a  prolific  source  of  disease.  Such  air,  how- 
ever, when  it  has  room  to  circulate,  purifies  itself  with 
comparative  rajndity  ;  and  the  usefulness  of  even  a  small 
open  space  may  exteud  to  a  considerable  circumference. 

The  public  park  offers  the  only  outdoor  recreation 
room  for  very  large  numbers  of  city  dwellers.  This  is 
not  the  jilace,  nor  is  it  necessary  here,  to  argue  that  the 
hurried,  Avorried  city  population  stands  in  great  need  of 
such  rest  and  recreation.  It  'may  be  regarded  as  self- 
evident.  One  who  looks  about  in  any  city  park  on  any 
reasonably  fair  day  will  find  how  large  a  number  of  peo- 
ple have  felt  such  a  need ;  and  he  is  much  more  likely 
to  conclude  that  hundreds  of  others  should  have  come 
to  the  park,  than  to  think  that  those  whom  he  sees  have 
no  business  there.  If  one  thinks  about  such  things 
while  he  is  in  the  parlv  and  sees  the  mothers  with  their 
babies,  the  girls  and  boys  picnicking,  the  young  people 
on  their  bicycles,  the  families  in  carriages,  and  the  hun- 
dreds of  others  of  every  age  and  estate  relaxing  from 
the  stress  of  ordinary  care,  he  must  conclude  that  these 
peoi:»le  get  some  good  out  of  it,  which,  in  the  sum  total, 
makes  a  rich  interest  on  the  park  investment. 

By  far  the  most  important  purpose  which  the  park 
serves,  however,  is  that  of  mental  sanitation.  The 
merest  novice  in  city  living  knows  how  wearing  upon 
the  mind,  and  \i]}on  the  nerve  centers  generally,  are 
the  din  and  hurry  and  unrest  from  which  no  one  has 
immunity.  When  continually  exposed  to  such  condi- 
tions, the  mind  and  the  senses  become  dulled  and 
dimmed  by  the  multitude  of  offensive  impressions  which 
they  are  obliged  to  bear.  Tlie  senses  need  rest  and  the 
mind  needs  renovation.  The  man  who  does  not  bathe 
his  body  once  a  week  is  not  thought  res2:)ectable  ;  yet  no 
one  blamxcs  him  for  letting  his  mtellect  go  uncleansed 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   PUBLIC   PARKS.  101 

Wi'::.  : 

^or  the  space  of  a  3'ear.  But  as  tlie  mind  responds  much 
"tore  quickly  than  the  hody  to  its  environment,  it 
demands  the  more  frequent  and  thorough  restoration. 
Many  minds  need  thorough  ablution, — disinfection. 
Every  mind  needs  frequent  rest  and  clarification.  For 
these  purposes  nothing  is  better  than  rural  scenery, 
quiet,  and  clean  air.  The  quiet  woodland  shade,  the 
cool  greensward,  the  budding  and  blossoming  flowers, 
have  a  powerfully  refreshing  influence  which  is  felt  by 
everyone,  but  underestimated  by  most  of  us.  The  prob- 
lem of  modern  city  life  seems  to  be  less  the  development 
of  bodily  perfections,  than  keeping  the  mind  keyed  up 
to  the  highest  point  of  efficiency;  and  in  the  solution  of 
that  problem  the  open  park  ground  must  always  prove  a 
very  important  quantity. 

If,  now,  we  inquire  how  the  best  artistic  effect  is  to 
be  realized  in  the  development  of  municipal  parks,  we 
have  o[)ened  a  most  difficult  and  important  question. 
Under  the  usual  democratic  method  of  management,  an 
artistic  success  is  in  the  highest  degree  imj^robable.  We 
have  already  familiarized  ourselves,  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter, with  the  primacy  of  the  demand  for  unity  in  land- 
scape comi)osition.  We  have  seen  how  necessary  it  is 
tliat  one  mind,  disembarrassed  of  all  extraneous  influ- 
ences, shall  create  one  coherent  i^lan  which  shall  ever 
after  be  strictly  followed.  And  yet  the  ordinary  way  is 
to  do  these  things  by  legislation  !  Even  after  a  park  is 
fully  established  in  some  fair  degree  of  completeness  it 
must  still  suffer  alterations  with  each  change  in  the 
board  of  aldermen. 

All  this  is  not  meant  as  an  argument  against  dem- 
ocratic city  government,  but  to  point  out  clearly  the 
tremendous  difficulty  of  securing  good  landscape  garden- 
ing in  ])ublic  parks,  and  to  show  how  imperative  it  is 
that  every  means  be  taken  to  secure  continuity  and  sta- 
bility of  park  management.      There  is,  of  course,   no 


102  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

argument  to  be  brought  against  the  demands  of  ^*  prac- 
tical politics ; "  but  in  those  cases,  not  unknown,  where 
common  sense  still  has  a  hearing,  there  is  yet  hope  for 
an  intelligent  treatment  of  this  important  question. 
There  are  jolaces  in  this  country  wliero  park  superintend- 
ents have  a  fairly  satisfactory  tenure  of  office,  and  where 
they  are  allowed  to  manage,  more  or  less,  the  develop- 
ment of  park  plans.  There  is  an  increasing  tendency  to 
employ  competent  landscape  gardeners  in  the  formation 
of  parks,  and  other  cheering  signs  combii\e  to  color  our 


FIG.  28.     THE  IDEAL  PARK. 

Rest,  refreshment  and  inspiration  in  every  feature.    Prospect  Park' 
Brooklyn. 

hope  for  a  steady  improvement  of  park  management 
along  with  the  improvement  of  public  taste. 

When  we  consider  the  purposes  of  a  public  park  as 
set  forth  above,  we  will  see  at  once  why  the  natural 
method  of  gardening  best  subserves  them,  and  why  they 
are  the  better  fulfilled  the  more  natural  and  pronounc- 
edly rural  the  treatment  is.  Quietness,  restfulncss, 
simplicity,  are  the  most  desirable  qualities.  And  this 
emphasizes  the  inappropriatenoss  of  pattern  bedding,  of 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   PUBLIC   PARKS.  103 

loud  color  designs,  and  of  all  the  tricks,  intricacies, 
extravagancies  and  artificialities  which  eat  up  the  gar- 
dener's time  and  the  city's  money,  and  which,  by  so 
much,  render  the  ])ark  unfit  for  its  best  service.  It  is 
said,  with  considerable  truth,  by  gardeners  and  others, 
that  the  public  demand  tlie  artificial  color  patterns. 
Many  people  feel  obliged  to  cater  to  this  taste,  even 
thougli  they  regard  it  as  childish.  But  it  should  be 
said  that  the  disproportionate  notice  which  such  objects 
attract  in  a  public  park  is  not  a  safe  measure  of  the  sat- 
isfaction they  give.  Many  visitors  are  benefited  by  the 
fresh  grass  and  the  cooling  shade  who  do  not  notice  the 
lawn  and  the  trees ;  while  those  who  exclaim  most 
loudly  over  the  wonderful  Chinese  puzzles  in  coleus  are 
not  helped  by  them  in  the  smallest  degree.  Such  vocif- 
erous features  of  park  ornament?  tion  may  be  very  fairly 
compared  with  the  cryiijg  evil  jf  advertising  displays. 
When  once  begun,  there  is  no  excess  to  which  either 
one  may  not  be  compelled  to  go.    - 


Part  !V. 


The  Gardener's  Materials. 


CHAPTER  XVL 

A  SELECT  LIST  OF  TREES. 

Many  large  trees,  especially  elms,  about  a  house,  are  a 
gure  indication  of  family  distinction  and  worth.  Any  evi- 
dence of  care  bestowed  on  these  trees  receives  tlie  traveler's 
tespect  as  for  a  nobler  husbandry  than  the  raising  of  corn 
and  potatoes.  Henry  David  Thoreau. 

It  will  not  do  to  be  exclusive  in  our  tastes  about  trees. 
There  is  liardly  one  of  them  which  has  not  peculiar  beauties 
in  some  fitting  place  for  it.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 

In  any  save  the  smallest  places  the  trees  form  the 
framework  of  the  plantings.  They  are  the  first  to  be 
considered,  and  the  first  to  be  placed.  And  unless  they 
are  felicitously  selected  and  happily  placed  and  well 
grown  the  whole  composition  is  apt  to  fall  to  pieces,  since 
it  lacks  the  necessary  framework. 

Moreover,  trees  are  sometimes  able  to  make  a  whole 
landscape  by  themselves.  A  forest  is  frequently  beau- 
tiful. And  if  there  are  pleasant  openings,  with  long 
perspectives,  and  views  of  wooded  hills,  or  of  craggy 
mountains,  or  of  river,  lake  or  sea,  the  landscape  requires 
little  else  to  make  it  satisfying  to  the  most  fastidious 
taste. 

Then,  too,  a  tree  is  a  beautiful  thing  by  itself. 
Each  good  tree  has  its  own  peculiar  and  sufficient  beau- 
ties, and  even  the  blasted  and  storm-torn  tree  may  make 
a  fascinating  picture.  In  all  large  plantings  there 
should  be  included  a  number  of  specimen  trees,  so 
placed  as  to  show  their  individual  good  qualities,  and  so 
grown  as  to  possess  those  good  qualities  in  the  greatest 
measure. 

For  all  these  reasons  the  selection  of  suitable  trees 
becomes  one  of  the  landscnpe  gardener's  first  and  most 

107 


108  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

important  duties.  Familiarity  with  trees  and  a  sympa- 
thetic understanding  of  their  manners  and  moods  is  the 
best  basis  on  which  to  make  this  choice  ;  but  tlie  follow- 
ing notes,  which  make  no  claim  to  completeness,  may 
be  of  some  service  to  those  who  have  not  made  trees  a 
special  study. 

Asii. — There  are  three  or  four  native  species  of  ash 
which  may  usually  be  collected  from  the  woods  or 
bought  from  the  nurseries.  All  are  good.  They  are 
excellent  for  large  masses,  and  will  bear  comparatively 
thick  planting. 

Beech. — The  common  American  beech  is  a  fine 
tree  where  it  will  succeed.  It  is  not  practicable  to  mass 
it  except  in  waste  places,  on  hillsides,  and  the  like.  An 
occasional  single  tree  in  rich  soil  makes  a  specimen  to 
be  proud  of.  The  Purple-leaved  beech  is  a  good  tree  of 
its  color;  but  one  or  two  will  be  enough  for  a  very  large 
place. 

Birch. — Pyramidal  and  weeping  birches  have  found 
many  buyers  during  recent  years.  However,  they  par- 
take more  of  the  nature  of  curiosities  than  of  indigenous 
trees,  and  are  not  to  be  recommended.  Nearly  all  the 
native  forms  and  species  are  good  in  their  place,  how- 
ever, in  garden  planting,  thougii  any  of  them  must  be 
sparingly  used.  The  White  birch.  Canoe  birch  and 
Yellow  birch  deserve  special  mention. 

Butternut. — See  Walnut. 

Catalpa. — Catalpa  speciosa  is  the  species  most 
planted.  It  makes  a  small  or  moderate  sized  tree,  with 
large  foliage,  which  is  quite  ornamental  ;  and  the  species 
is  further  desirable  for  its  fine  display  of  flowers.  Catalpa 
hignonioides  and  Tea's  Japan  Hybrid  are  good  sorts  less 
frequently  planted. 

Cedar. — The  Red  cedar,  Juniperus  Virginiana,  is 
a  fine  ornamental  evergreen  much  used  in  the  western 
states,  but  scarcely  known  in  some  parts  of  the  east.     It 


A  SELECT  LIST  OF  TREES.  109 

is  suitable  for  almost  every  situation  where  evergreens 
may  be  used  ;  it  can  be  massed  with  fine  effect ;  it  has  a 
very  attractive  color ;  and  other  qualities  recommend  it 
for  more  general  notice. 

Coffee  Tree. — This  beautiful  ornamental  tree, 
Chjmnocladus  Canadensis,  makes  a  good  specimen  on 
almost  any  lawn.  Not  more  than  two  or  three  are  usu- 
ally desirable,  but  they  should  not  be  omitted. 

Elm. — The  American  elm  is  the  typical  American 
tree,  and  the  one  indispensable  street  tree.  It  is,  per- 
haps, the  most  generally  useful  ornamental  tree  we  have. 
No  other  elm  is  so  good  as  the  common  species,  though 
the  following  are  well  worth  using  for  special  purposes  : 
Slippery  elm,  Ulmus  fulva,  English  elm,  U.  campestris, 
Huntingdon  elm,  U.  Huntingdoni,  Wych  elm,  U, 
Montana. 

GiNGKo. — This  strange  tree,  sometimes  called  the 
Maidenhair  tree,  makes  an  odd  and  pretty  specimen, 
but  is  not  suited  to  grouping.  It  makes  a  very  good 
screet  tree  when  well  grown. 

Hackberry. — Sometimes  called  Nettle  tree,  Celtis 
occidentalis.  This  is  a  good,  hardy  tree,  especially  desir- 
able in  the  western  prairie  states. 

HoNEv  Locust. — Tliis  is  one  of  our  very  best  shade 
and  ornamental  trees.  Its  very  large  thorns,  wiiich 
sometimes  prove  annoying,  may  be  avoided  by  securing 
thorn  less  trees.  These  thornless  trees  may  be  found  in 
almost  any  nursery. 

IloiisK-cHESTNUT. — Tliis  is  a  fine  tree  for  small 
groups.  It  is  not  useful  in  masses,  and  not  at  its  best 
in  street  ])lanting.  For  grouping,  the  Ohio  Buckeye  or 
Western  horse-chestnut  is  a  good  tree  of  small  size. 

KoELREi  TERiA. — Koelreutevia  paniculata  has  found 
many  friends  in  this  countiy,  and  may  be  seen  in  many 
parks  and  private  places.  It  makes  a  small  tree,  fifteen 
to  thirty  feet  high,  with  feathery  pinnate  leaves,  and 


110  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

pretty  yellow  blossoms.     To  be  chosen  for  middle-ground 
plantings,  and  used  in  small  numbers. 

Linden. — The  American  linden  or  Basswood  is  a 
good  park  tree,  and  also  good  for  street  planting.  It 
deserves  more  general  use. 

Magnolias. — The  magnolias  seem  most  in  keeping 
with  southern  landscapes,  but  many  of  them  are  useful 
as  far  north  as  New  York  city.  Among  the  best  species 
are  MagiioHa  coiispicua,  M.  glanca.  M.  Soidangtaiia,  M, 
macrophylla,  M.  stellata,  and  M.  Lennei. 

MAPLf:s. — This  is  one  of  our  noI)lest  genera  of  trees. 
The  common  Sugar  maple  is  a  typical  American  tree 
and  one  of  the  most  valuable  for  ])lanting  anywhere 
where  it  will  thrive.  In  tlie  western  states  it  does  not 
succeed,  but  is  there  replaced  by  the  Silver  or  Soft 
maple,  Acer  dasycarpiim.  A  fine,  semi-weeping  variet' 
of  this  latter  species  is  Wier's  Cut-leaved  maple,  which 
is  especially  suitable  for  specimen  planting  in  grounds 
of  moderate  extent.  Schwerdler's  maple  is  another  fine 
ornamental  variety.  The  Japanese  maples  are  not  hardy 
in  the  northern  states.  Though  very  satisfactory  speci- 
mens are  sometimes  grown  as  far  northward  as  Massachu- 
setts, they  are  not  generally  successful  beyond  New  York, 
and  are  at  their  best  in  the  latitude  of  Washington.  The 
Norway  maple,  Acer  platajioides,  makes  a  fine  orna- 
mental, street  or  shade  tree.  The  Striped  maple  or 
moosewood,  Acer  Fe?insylvauicum,  is  rather  a  large  shrub 
than  a  tree,  but  is  very  fine  for  masses  on  sloping  banks, 
for  small  screens,  and  similar  purposes.  The  Mountain 
maple,  A.  spicaium,  may  be  used  in  the  same  way. 

Mulberry. — The  native  American  mulberry,  Morus 
rubra,  makes  a  good  tree,  and  should  be  oftener  chosen 
for  general  planting.  The  Russian  mulberry  and  the 
Multicaulis  mulberry  are  useful  treated  as  shrubs.  They 
may  be  worked  into  thickets  and  cut  back  from  year 
to  year. 


A  SELECT  LIST  OF  TREES.  Ill 

Oak. — Oaks  are  slow  to  grow,  but  they  are  worth 
waiting  for.  Almost  every  species  is  desirable  for  plant- 
ing in  parks  and  private  grounds.  Special  mention  may 
be  given  to  the  American  White  oak,  Quercus  alba. 
Swamp  White  oak,  Q.  hicolor,  and  the  Scarlet  oak,  Q, 
coccinea.  A  dozen  other  extremely  valuable  species  may 
be  selected  from  almost  any  catalog. 

Paulowxia. — This  fine  tree  is  seldom  seen  in  per- 
fection. Perhaps  it  is  difficult  to  grow,  though  the 
experience  of  gardeners  generally  does  not  enforce  this 
point.  It  does  fairly  well  as  far  north  as  New  York 
city,  where  some  excellent  specmiens  may  be  seen  in 
Central  Park.     At  Washington  it  is  perhaps  at  its  best. 

PixE. — The  genus  Pinus  contains  the  best  of  the 
evergreen  trees,  though  for  general  park  planting  spruces 
are  more  easily  managed.  The  best  park  pines  are  the 
Austrian,  the  Scotch,  the  White,  Pinus  Strohiis^  and  the 
Dwarf  Mugho.  The  latter  makes  a  small,  round-topped 
tree  six  to  ten  feet  high,  which  is  very  attractive  in 
certain  situations. 

Plums. — Pissard's  plum  is  the  one  most  commonly 
chosen  for  ornamental  planting.  This  makes  a  clean, 
pretty,  small  tree,  with  bright,  red  foliage.  It  cannot 
be  used  in  quantity.  Several  of  the  native  plums,  par- 
ticularly Primus  Americana,  are  suitable  for  more  fre- 
quent use  in  general  composition. 

Poplar. — Several  of  the  poplars  are  useful,  partic- 
ularly on  account  of  their  easy  and  rapid  growth.  They 
are,  however,  short-lived,  and  sometimes  objectionable 
on  account  of  their  cottony  seeds,  which  they  i?ow  broad- 
cast. The  Lombardy  poplar  has  its  own  peculiar  and 
obvious  role  in  gardening  practice. 

Spruce. — Next  to  the  pines,  the  spruces  are  our 
finest  evergreens,  and  are,  pernaps,  even  more  useful 
than  the  former  in  general  ornamental  planting.  The 
best  are  the  Norway,  White,  Black  and  Colorado. 


112  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

Sweet  Gum. — This  tree  is  especially  suitable  to  the 
southern  states,  where,  in  artistic  effect,  it  takes  the 
place  of  the  Sugar  maple  in  the  north.  Where  it  suc- 
ceeds well  it  may  be  planted  in  masses  of  almost  any  size. 

Sycamore,  Plane  tree  or  Button  wood. — The  Amer- 
ican sycamore  is  one  of  the  very  finest  street  trees  we 
have,  as  one  will  readily  believe  after  seeing  it  on  the 
Capitol  grounds  at  Washington.  It  is  also  useful  in 
general  park  composition,  tlie  striking  color  and  texture 
of  its  foliage  marking  it  for  special  notice.  It  is  not 
hardy  north  of  Vermont,  and  not  at  its  best  north  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Thorn  Trees. — The  various  species  of  the  genus 
Crataegus  make  fine  additions  to  lawn  plantings,  their 
effect  being  usually  somewhat  picturesque.  Their  small 
size  adapts  them  to  certain  positions.  Among  the  best 
native  species  may  be  named  Cratcegus  crus-galU,  0, 
tomentosa,  and  C.  coccinea.  The  English  hawthorn,  C, 
oxyacantha,  is  sometimes  planted  in  this  country  with 
fair  success. 

Tulip  Tree,  Liriodendron  TtiUpifera. — This  is  a 
good  tree  for  situations  where  something  large  is  required. 
It  may  be  massed  in  any  quantity.     Prefers  good  soil. 

Walnut. — The  common  Black  walnut  makes  a  fine 
tree,  though  it  is  slow  of  growth.  The  Japanese  walnuts 
may  sometimes  be  planted  to  advantage.  The  common 
l)utternut  seldom  makes  a  good  tree,  but  it  has  charac- 
teristic foliage  which  makes  it  useful  for  planting  with 
other  trees. 

Willow. — Many  of  the  willows  are  useful,  especially 
on  low,  moist  land.  The  best  are  Royal  willow,  Salix 
regalis,  the  Shining  willow,  S.  lucida^  the  Laurel-leaved 
willow,  8.  laurifolia,  and  the  Golden  willow,  S.  vittelina 
aurea.  The  Babylon  willow  is  good  in  spite  of  its 
weeping  habit.  In  general,  weeping  willows  are  to  be 
avoided,  unless  an  exception  be  made  for  cemeteries. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  BEST  SHRUBS. 

Deciduous  shrubs  are,  beyond  all  question,  the  most 
important  element  in  planting  small  grounds. 

C.  S.  Sargent. 
If  one-tenth  the  trouble  wasted  on  carpet  bedding  and 
other  fleeting,  though  costly,  rubbish,  had  been  spent  on 
flowering  shrubs,  our  gardens  would  be  much  the  better  for 
it.    There  are  no  plants  so  neglected  as  flowering  shrubs. 

Wm.  Robinson. 
The  wild  shrubs  which  skirt  the  waysides  have  a  beauty 
beyond  that  of  the  cultivated  exotics  in  spaded  gardens. 

Wilson  Flagg. 

To  some  unfortunate  persons  masses  and  borders  of 
loose  growing  shrubbery  suggest  nothing  but  neglected 
roadsides  and  pasture  grounds.  The  commonness  of 
such  materials,  and  the  ease  with  which  unthoughtful 
persons  may  pass  them  by,  seem  to  indicate  a  certain 
crudit}^,  if  not  a  real  vulgarity,  in  the  bushes  and 
branches.  But  this  feeling  is  founded  upon  an  untrained 
sympathy, — upon  a  true  lack  of  feeling  for  nature, — 
upon  notions  of  ornamental  planting  which  are  in  the 
highest  degree  incorrect.  There  is  nothing  so  crude 
and  vulgar  in  gardening  as  an  over-display  of  colors 
(which  are  nearly  always  inharmonious  among  them- 
selves). An  appetite  for  these  gaudy  colors  indicates 
an  untrained  taste,  just  as  an  appetite  for  dime  novels 
indicates  a  poor  taste  in  literature,  or  as  a  preference 
for  noisy  street  songs  indicates  a  lack  of  training  in 
music.  The  more  refined  enjoyment  and  the  most 
deeply  pleasurable  sensations  aroused  by  any  art  are 
those  which  arise  from  delicate  colorings,  from  subtle 
modulations,  from  almost  imperceptible  distinctions. 
And  so  the  nature-lover  delights  in  the  most  delicate 
8  113 


114  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

tones  and  tints  of  grays  and  greens  and  browns,  like 
those  of  the  pussy  willow  and  the  roadside  dogwood; 
and  lie  revels  in  the  beautiful  variety  of  texture  offered 
by  the  spirea,  the  sumach  and  the  Judas  tree. 

We  have  already  called  attention  to  the  usefulness 
of  shrubs  in  naturalistic  plantings,  and  need  not  repeat 
what  has  been  said.  But  shrubs  are  also  indispensable  in 
all  other  systems  of  gardening,  and  a  study  of  the  species 
and  varieties  at  command  must  be  the  first  business  of 
the  gardener.  Tlie  following  list  is  not  at  all  complete, 
but  is  meant  to  include  the  hardier  and  more  useful 
kinds.  There  are  enough  for  most  plantings,  for  one 
must  not  make  the  mistake  of  trying  to  plant  everything. 
A  dozen  well-selected  species  give  a  better  effect  thun 
two  hundred  sorts  liuddled  and  crowded  and  jumbled 
together. 

One  frequently  sees  shrubs  tied  up  in  straw,  or  laid 
down  and  covered,  or  otherwise  carefully  protected  for 
the  winter.  This  has  to  be  done  with  certain  species  in 
certain  situations  to  keep  them  alive.  But  there  are  so 
many  perfectly  hardy  shrubs,  able  to  withstand  every- 
thing that  comes,  that  such  labor  may  be  entirely 
avoided.  In  fact,  those  plants  which  have  to  be  cod- 
dled through  bad  weather  and  favored  above  their  neigh- 
bors always  give  a  suggestion  of  unnaturalness  to  the 
place.  They  seem  to  be  exotic, — foreign  to  the  situa- 
tion. The  perfectly  wild  garden,  able  to  care  for  itself 
and  always  at  home  with  its  surroundings,  has  a  certain 
permanency  and  unity  of  effect  which  no  other  garden 
can  have. 

Shrubs  should  be  given  proper  pruning;  but  they 
should  be  spared  the  sort  they  often  get.  Only  in  very 
exceptional  circumstances  should  the  tops  be  sheared,  or 
the  growth  cut  back  at  the  extremities.  This  spoils  at 
once  the  graceful  drooping  habit  which  is  separately 
characteristic  of  almost  every  species.     When  the  prun- 


THE  BEST  SHRUBS.  115 

ing  knife  and  the  shears  are  to  be  applied  to  any  slirub, 
they  should  usually  cut  out  at  the  base.  Old,  straggling 
stems  are  cut  away,  and  fresh,  clean,  vigorous  sprouts 
come  up  in  their  places.  Many  species,  like  the  sumachs, 
give  the  best  results  if  they  are  cut  back  almost  annu- 
ally quite  to  the  ground,  and  allowed  to  sprout  afresh 
from  the  stools. 

Alder. — Several  of  the  alders  make  very  useful 
shrubs  for  border  planting,  particularly  the  European 
alder,  which  is  rather  a  small  tree  if  full  grown.  The 
Green  or  Mountain  alder,  Alnus  viridis,  is  one  of  the 
best,  three  to  eight  feet  tall.  Ahnis  incana  is  a  good 
plant  of  its  size,  eight  to  twenty  feet. 

Amalanchier  Canadensis,  Juneberry,  Shad  Bush. 
— The  dwarf  varieties,  two  to  five  feet  high,  are  best 
for  planting. 

Amokpha  fruticosa,  False  Indigo. — A  good,  hardy 
shrub.  Amorplia  canescens,  Lead  plant,  is  mostly  her- 
baceous, w^ith  fine,  soft,  silvery  foliage,  and  wtII  worth 
more  extensive  planting.  It  has  beautiful  spikes  of 
deep  violet-purple  flowers.     One  to  three  feet. 

Aralia  spinosa,  Hercules  Club. — Bears  immense 
leaves  which  give  a  striking,  somewhat  tropical  effect. 
Six  to  eighteen  feet. 

Berp.eris,  Barberry. — Very  useful  shrubs.  The 
common  species  is  from  Europe,  but  is  naturalized  in 
many  parts  of  the  eastern  states.  The  Puri:)le-leaved 
barberry  is  a  variety  of  this.  B.  Tlmnhergii  is  a  small 
shrub  from  Japan  with  beautiful,  delicate  foliage,  taking 
a  fine  red  color  after  frost. 

Calycanthus  floridus,  Spice  Bush. — A  small 
shrub  with  very  sweet  scented  flowers. 

Caragana,  Pea  Tree. — C.  friiie^cens  is  a  low  shrub, 
bearing  an  abundance  of  bright  yellow,  pea-like  flowers 
in  spring.     C.  arlorescens  is  similai-,  but  larger. 

Cephalanthus  occidextalis,  Button  Bush. — A 
hardy  native  shrub  of  wide  distribution,  making  a  round 


116  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

head ;  foliage  good ;  flowers  white,  abundant,  in  globu- 
lar heads  in  spring.     Four  to  eight  feet. 

Cercis  Canadensis,  Judas  tree.  Bed  bud. — A 
small  tree  with  pretty  bark  and  fine  foliage ;  covered 
with  red  blossoms  early  in  spring  before  the  appearance 
of  leaves. 

Chionanthus  Virginica,  Fringe  tree. — A  large 
shrub  or  small  tree,  inclined  to  bear  too  little  foliage, 
but  having  an  abundance  of  white  blossoms  about  lilac- 
flowering  time. 

Clethra  alnifolia,  White  Alder. —A  useful  natire 
shrub.     Three  to  ten  feet. 

CoRNus,  Dogwood.  The  dogwoods  are  among  our 
best  shrubs.  No  one  should  think  of  planting  a  place 
without  them.  The  native  red-branched  species,  G, 
stolonifera  and  C.  Baileyi,  are  especially  desirable.  0. 
paniculata  is  also  a  native  species,  a  good  grower,  and 
desirable  for  its  flowers.  C,  sericea,  C,  mas,  C,  sa7i- 
guinea  and  C.  florida  are  all  good. 

Cydonia  Japonica  (Pyrus  Japonica),  Japan  quince. 
— Much  cultivated  in  this  country.  Desirable  chiefly 
on  account  of  its  brilliant  scarlet  flowers  in  early  spring. 

Daphne. — D.  mezereiuii  is  a  deciduous  low  shrub 
with  rose-colored  flowers ;  one  to  three  feet.  D.  cneor^um 
is  a  hardy,  evergreen  undershrub  from  Europe,  and  a 
great  favorite  with  some  planters. 

Deutzia. — The  deutzias  are  not  quite  hardy  in  the 
north,  but  can  usually  be  depended  on  in  the  middle 
states,  where  they  are  very  valuable.  There  are  three 
useful  species :  D.  crenata,  D.  scahra  and  D,  gracilis. 

Diervilla  FLORIDA,  Wcigclia. — Included  in  this 
species  are  most  of  the  shrubs  sold  as  Diervilla  rosea, 
Weigelia  alba,  etc.  There  are  many  varieties,  mostly 
hardy,  good  growers  and  profuse  bloomers.  The  foliage, 
however,  is  a  trifle  coarse. 

Elder. — The  common  American  elder,  Samlucus 
Canadensis,  Fig.  29,  is  a  shrub  of  no  mean  artistic  capa- 


THE  BEST  SHRUBS. 


117 


bilities.  It  is  fine  for  massing  against  trees  and  along 
woodland  borders,  and  for  working  into  various  compo- 
sitions. The  Golden  elder  is  a  pretty  shrub  for  use  in 
limited  quantity. 

El.eagxus,  Oleaister. — E,  longipes  has  been  widely 
sold  in  recent  years  and  is  a  good  shrub,  with  ornamental 
and  edible  fruit.  E,  argentea  is  also  planted,  but  is  not 
so  desirable. 

EuoxYMus  ATROPURPUPvEus,  Bumiug  bush,  or 
Strawberry  tree. — Well  known  shrub  with  bright  orna- 


^-'^"■^m 


_ ..^  .      ,  ^  J^^-^^'^^:^' 


FIG.  29.    THE  AMERICAN  ELDER. 

mental  fruit  which  persists  long  into  the  winter.  Not 
hardy  in  the  north. 

ExocHORDA  GRAXDip^LORA. — A  fiiic  shrub,  bearing 
beautiful  white  blossoms  in  spring.  Deserves  more  gen- 
eral planting. 

FoRSYTHiA,  Golden-Bell. — One  of  the  very  finest 
shrubs  for  the  latitude  of  IN'ew  York  and  southward, 
especially  A  viridissima  aw^iha  commercial  F.  Fortanei, 
which  bear  great  quantities  of  brilliant  yellow  fiowers  in 


118 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 


early  spring.  These  are  quite  commonly  planted  and 
form  one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  the  spring 
landscape  in  parts  of  Xew  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Dela- 
ware, Maryland  and  Virginia.  Forf^ytliia  suspensa  of 
the  catalogs  is  a  weeping  or  semi-prostrate  form. 

Hydrangea  paxiculata  grandiflora,  The  Hardy 
Hydrangea. — There  are  several  forms  of  this,  but  the 
spreading  shrub  with  large  flowers  is  best.  One  of  the 
best  and  most  reliable   hardy  shrubs,   giving  a  great 


FIG.  30.     HARDY  HYDRANGEA  PROPERLY  PLANTED. 

abundance  of  showy  white  flowers  in  autumn  when  blos- 
soms are  few.     Four  to  eight  feet. 

Hypericum,  St.  John's  Wort. — Small  native  shrubs 
of  considerable  nsefulness,  of  which  the  best  species  are 
//.  Kalmianumy  H,  prolificum  and  H.  aureum. 

Kerria  Japonica. — A  pretty  shrub  with  slender, 
delicate,  bright  green  twigs,  fresh  green  leaves  and  hand- 
some yellow  flowers.  Well  worth  planting.  Three  to 
eight  feet. 

LiGusTRUM,  Privet. — One  of  the  best  shrubby  hedge 
plants,  but  available   also    for  massing.     Hardy  and 


THE  BEST  SHRUBS.  119 

thrifty  and  bears  shearing.  The  species  mostly  grown 
are  L.  vidgare  and  L.  ovalifolium. 

Lilac  (Botanically  Syringa).—T\\Q  lilacs  are  old 
and  never-to-be-forgotten  favorites.  They  are  capable 
of  mncli  greater  beauty  than  is  usually  realized.  They 
should  be  kept  cut  back  to  a  reasonable  bight,  the  old 
wood  thinned  out,  and  a  fresh,  vigorous  growth  kept  up 
by  liberal  manuring.  The  fine  new  varieties,  with  mag- 
nificent large  single  or  double  flowers  in  numerous 
extremely  rich  colors,  offer  a  chance  for  many  new  expe- 
riences with  these  old  favorites.  Sometimes  tlie  finer 
varieties  may  be  successfully  grafted  upon  old,  estab- 
lished plants  which  give  inferior  blossoms. 

LoNicERA  TARTARicA,  Busli  Honcysucklc. — A  very 
common  and  very  useful  shrnb.  A  profuse  bloomer. 
Very  hardy.     Four  to  eight  feet. 

My  RICA  Gale,  Sweet  gale,  and  Myrica  asplenifolia, 
Sweet  Fern,  are  well  known,  small  native  shrubs  which 
add  very  much  to  certain  effects  when  judiciously  set  in 
small  masses  in  the  shrubbery  border. 

pHiLADELPHus,  Syriuga,  Mock  Orange.  —  These 
shrubs  are  most  remarkable  for  their  abundance  of  very 
fragrant  white  flowers  in  spring.  Like  lilacs,  they  need 
to  be  rigorously  clijiped  out  to  prevent  the  accumulation 
of  eld,  unsightly  wood.  The  best  plan  is  to  cut  all  i\iQ 
stems  back  to  the  ground  at  three  or  four  years  old,  or 
even  at  two  years  old  if  the  growth  of  new  wood  justi- 
fies it.  This  keeps  up  a  rotation  of  fresh,  clean  shoots. 
The  best  species  are  P.  grandiflorus,  P,  coronarius  and 
P,  Gordoniarius.     Six  to  ten  feet. 

PoTENTiLLA  FRUTicosA,  Ciuquefoil. — A  native  shrub 
Avith  bright  yellow  flowers.  Hardy  and  inclined  to  be 
weedy  in  some  sandy  soils.     Three  to  four  feet. 

Prunus,  Plums  and  Cherries. — Nearly  all  the  native 
plums  and  cherries  are  worth  planting  for  ornamental 
purposes.     The  Beach  plum,  Prunus  7nariHma,  is  one 


120  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

of  the  most  useful,  though  for  larger  plants  selected 
varieties  of  P.  Americana  make  the  finest  of  small  trees. 
The  Sand  cherries,  P.  2^i(niila,  and  P.  Besseyi,  growing 
from  two  to  five  feet  high,  are  excellent;  while  for 
heavy  masses  in  certain  places  the  common  Choke 
cherry  is  one  of  tlie  best  species  known.  It  is  vig- 
orous, clean  and  healthy,  though  occasionally  denuded 
by  caterpillars. 

Rhododendrons. — These  magnificent  ornamental 
plants  are  hardy  in  most  situations  and  not  usually  diffi- 
cult to  grow.  There  are  many  wonderful  and  striking 
varieties  ofl;ered  by  the  nurserymen,  but  the  beginner 
will  hardly  be  able  to  discriminate  their  merits. 

Ehus,  Sumach. — The  sumachs  are  mostly  all  very 
hardy  and  good  ornamentid  plants.  Their  spreading, 
luxuriant  pinnate  foliage  gives  a  peculiar  and  somewhat 
troincal  suggestion.  In  most  places  they  are  best  if  the 
old  growth  is  constantly  cut  out  and  the  vigorous  young 
shoots  depended  on.  Their  colors  in  autumn  are  espe- 
cially desirable.  Ehus  glabra  is  probably  best,  followed 
by  P,  co^mlUna  and  P.  ty2)liina.  P,  Cotinus,  the  Smoke 
tree,  is  quite  different  from  the  others.  It  is  a  well 
known  shrub,  five  to  ten  feet  high,  bearing  large  feath- 
ery wands  of  reddish  or  purplish  abortive  blossoms. 

RiBEs  AUREUM. — A  uativo  currant,  now  often  cul- 
tivated for  fruit  as  well  as  for  ornament.  It  bears  many 
pretty,  spicy,  sweet  scented,  bright  yellow  flowers  in 
spring,  and  always  shows  a  clean,  attractive  foliage. 
Four  to  seven  feet.  Other  species  of  currants  and  goose- 
berries are  also  useful  in  shrubbery  masses. 

Roses. — Hardy  flowering  roses  are  usually  best 
planted  in  beds  by  themselves ;  but  many  of  the  native 
species  are  remarkably  fine  if  grown  in  the  border  with 
the  other  shrubbery.  Posa  Incida,  P.  llanda  and  nearly 
all  the  native  species  may  be  planted.  The  Sweet  Brier 
and  the  Prairie  rose,  P.  setigera,  are  among  the  best. 


THE  BEST  SHRUBS.  1^1 

The  Japanese  rose,  R,  rugosa,  is  also  a  very  fine  shrub 
for  general  planting. 

RuBus  ODORATus. — The  flowering  raspberry  is  one 
of  the  most  useful  and  neglected  of  native  shrubs.  It 
should  generally  be  used  in  small  masses  for  the  empha- 
sis which  its  large,  striking  foliage  gives.  Three  to  five 
feet.     Other  brambles  are  very  useful  in  many  places. 

Salix,  Willow. — Most  of  the  willows  tend  to  be 
trees  rather  than  shrubs,  but  many  of  them  can  be 
grown  as  shrubs  if  severely  cut  back.  They  are  espe- 
cially desirable  for  the  delicate  gray-greens  which  they 
give  in  spring,  and  some  of  them  for  the  brightness  of 
their  twigs  in  winter.  Salix  vitellina  of  horticulturists 
has  beautiful  bright  golden  twigs.  S,  lucida  is  espe- 
cially remarkable  for  its  sliining  foliage.  The  so-called 
weeping  willows  grafted  in  the  top  of  a  straight  trunk 
are  to  be  avoided. 

Spiraeas  form,  on  the  whole,  tlie  finest  and  most 
useful  group  of  shrubs  we  have.  Their  hardiness,  thrift, 
grace,  floriferousness,  all  recommend  them.  Probably 
the  best  one  is  the  horticulturist's  Sjnrcea  Van  Houttei, 
sometimes  called  Bridal  Wreath.  No  grounds  any- 
where ought  to  lack  this.  Then  come  8.  iwunifolia 
and  S.  Jiypericifolia.  The  former  has  specially  beautiful 
foliage.  The  latter  is  much  like  a  small  edition  of  Yan 
Houtt.  S.  Thunlergii  is  small  (one  to  three  feet)  and 
very  delicate  and  graceful  in  growth  and  in  foliage, 
but  not  fully  hardy  northward.  The  golden  spiraea 
{S,  aurea,  Hort.)  is  a  fine,  upright  grower,  with  good, 
yellowish  foliage,  and  bright  stems  in  winter.  Four  to 
ten  feet.   . 

Symphoricarpus  racemosus,  Snowberry. — A  good 
native  shrub,  with  white  berries  in  autumn.  Two  to 
five  feet.  S.  vulgaris,  Coral  berry  or  Indian  currant, 
is  very  common  in  the  central  and  western  states,  and  is 
well  worth  j^lanting.     It  is  graceful  of  growth  and  bears 


122  LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

quantities   of   persistent  bright   red   berries.      Two   to 
five  feet. 

Viburnum  opulus,  Snowball  or  Guelder  rose. — 
This  is  a  fine,  strong-growing  shrnb  giving  abundant 
white  blossoms.  Other  viburnums  are  also  desirable,  as 
V.  plicatum^  F.  lantanoides,  V.  tomentosum,  etc. 


CHAPTER  XVin. 

HARDY   PERENNIALS. 

Die  Zahl  der  Freunde  von  Stauden  oder  perennierenden 
Gewaechsen  liat  in  den  letzten  Jahren  ganz  bedeutend 
zugenommen  ;  man  darf  nur  bei  einem  Ausflug  die  Gaerten 
und  Gaertclien  der  Blunienfreiinde,  in  <ler  Stadt,  wie  auf  dem 
Lande,  aufmerksani  betracliieii,  da  wild  man  beobachten 
koennen,  dass  Stauden  sclion  viel  Verwendung  gefundeu 
haben  und  hoffentlich  noch  meliv  finden  werden. 

J.  Biemueller. 

The  hardy  herbaceous  perennials,  as  a  class,  are  the 
easiest  to  manage,  the  cheapest  and  the  most  naturalistic 
in  the  effect  they  give,  of  all  the  plants  that  grow.  When 
once  planted  they  need  very  little  further  care.  Many 
of  them  need  none  at  all,  and  will  thrive  and  multiply 
for  years  in  the  grass  or  among  the  shrubs  without  the 
slightest  attention.  Growing  thus  at  full  fi-eedom  they 
give  a  wild,  woodsy  air  to  a  place  which  nothing  else 
can  furnish  quite  so  well.  Their  ability  to  take  care  of 
themselves  year  after  year  makes  them  very  cheap. 
There  has  been  a  very  healthy  and  gratifying  tendency 
in  recent  years  toward  the  more  general  use  of  such 
material,  but  there  is  no  likelihood  that  it  will  soon  be 
overdone. 

Hardy  perennials  may  be  used  in  almost  any  situa- 
tion where  plants  are  wanted  at  all.  They  may  grow 
under  the  trees,  among  the  shrubs,  in  rockeries,  along 
the  borders  of  ponds  and  rivulets,  on  sloping  banks,  in 
borders  by  themselves,  in  shade  or  sun ;  in  fact,  it  is 
very  hard  to  go  amiss  with  them  unless,  indeed,  they 
are  put  into  flower  beds.  It  is  a  very  convenient  way  to 
outline  a  border  with  herbaceous  perennials,  among 
which  and  in  front  of  which  the  annuals  are  planted 

123 


124  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

from  year  to  year.  One  of  tlie  best  ways  is  to  mix  them 
with  the  shrubbery,  usually,  of  course,  bringing  them 
somewhat  in  front  of  the  larger  woody  shrubs,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  31.  Many  of  them  are  excellent  simply  scattered 
thickly  in  the  grass.  Here  they  become  naturalized  and 
lead  their  own  careless-thrifty  lives.  Buttercups  and 
daisies  live  in  that  way.  Columbines  and  golden-rods 
give  great  satisfaction  when  similarly  grown.  So  do 
anemones,  trilliums,  asters,  claytonias,  erigerons,  pent- 


FIG.  31.  SUGGESTION  FOR  BORDEK  PLANTING. 

For  planting  wUli  perennials :  a,  Paparer  niulicmde,  Iceland  poppy, 
6,  Pentstemon  acuminatus.  c,  Phlox  hybrids,  d.  Aster  NovcB-Anglice.  e. 
Aquilegia  chrysantha,  columbine,  f,  Hollyhocks,  r/,  Coreopsis  grandi- 
flora.    h.  Chrysanthemum  maxbnum.    i,  Peonies,  or  Oenothera  Fraseri. 

For  planting  with  annuals:  a,  Nasturtiums,  dwarf,  b,  Shirley 
poppies,  c,  Gaillardia  Lorenziana.  d,  Branching  asters,  e.  Antirrhinum, 
snapdragon.  /,  Sunflower,  "  Stella."  g,  Coreopsis  Drummondii,  "  Golden 
Wave."    h,  Petunias,    i,  Phlox  Dmnnmondii. 

For  mixed  planting:  a,  Nasturtiums.  ^,  Shirley  poppies,  c,  Glad- 
ioli, rf,  rancliing  asters,  e,  Aquilegia  chrysantha,  columbine.  /,  Heli- 
anthus  orgyalis,  W. How-leaved  sunflower,  g.  Calendula,  or  Large  Mari- 
golds,   h,  Digitalis  gloxinceflora,  foxglove,     i,  Lilium  speciosum  rubrum. 

stemons,  and  many  others.  Of  course,  the  most  of 
these  cannot  be  grown  in  a  lawn  which  is  kept  mowed ; 
but  there  should  be  some  unmowed  lawn  on  any  place 
which  has  the  room. 

Many  of  the  hardy  perennials  can  be  grown  easily 
from  seed.  Usually  it  is  best  to  sow  the  seed  in  a  spe- 
cially prepared  bed  or  cold  frame,  from  which  the  seed- 
lings are  transplanted  to  pots,  nursery  rows,  or  directly 


HARDY  PERENNIALS.  135 

to  their  permanent  places.  Many  of  them  are  propa- 
gated more  easily  by  division.  Or  the  ready-grown 
plants  may  be  bought  directly  from  the  nurseryman  ; 
and  as  each  investment  in  such  plants  is  a  permanent 
one,  the  expense  is  comparatively  small. 

It  would  be  entirely  impossible,  within  the  limits  of 
this  work,  to  enumerate  and  describe  the  most  of  the 
good  herbaceous  perennials.  The  following  list  is  offered 
merely  as  a  suggestion  to  those  who  are  very  much  unac- 
quainted with  such  plants.  The  author  has  endeavored 
to  select  those  easiest  to  grow  and  of  widest  usefulness ; 
but  as  such  a  selection  is  a  very  personal  matter  any- 
one else  who  is  acquainted  with  herbaceous  perennials 
will  be  likely  to  choose  a  somewhat  different  list. 

AcoNiTUM,  Monkshood. —A  charming  group  of 
plants,  though  some  are  poisonous.  The  best  are  A. 
napellus,  A.  autiimnale  and  A,  uncmatum. 

Anemone,  Wind  Flower.— In  many  species  and  vari- 
eties, all  good.  Mostly  flowering  early  ;  usually  white, 
sometimes  blue.  Among  the  best  are  A.  sylvestris,  A. 
7iemorosa,  A.  Femisylvaiiica,  A.  patens  NuttalUana, 
A,  Japonica,  and  many  horticultural  varieties,  both 
double  and  single. 

Aquilegia,  Columbine.— One  of  the  most  valuable 
groups  of  hardy  plants.  Easy  to  grow  from  seed.  The 
best  species  are  A.  Canadensis,  A.  coerulea,  A.  vidgaris 
and    A.    chrysantha,    though    there    are    many   other 

fine  ones. 

Asclepias  contains  several  good  plants,  of  which 
A.  tiiberosa  is  best.  It  grows  in  tufts,  twelve  to  eight- 
een inches  high,  with  large  heads  of  orange  blossoms  in 
midsummer. 

Aster.— Several  of  the  asters  are  hardy  perennials, 
and  many  are  very  ornamental.  The  following  deserve 
special  mention  :  A.  Imns,  A.  Novm-AncjlicB,  A,  Novi- 
Belgii,  A.  cor dif alius,  A.  aljnnus,  A.  ericoides. 


126  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

BoccoNiA  CORD  AT  A  {B.  Japonico), — A  large,  strong- 
growing  plant,  with  large  leaves.  Fine  for  emphasis  at 
medium  distances.     Five  to  eight  feet. 

Callirhoe  involucrata. — A  good,  small,  trailing 
plant  with  an  abundance  of  purplish  flowers. 

Campanula,  Bluebell,  Harebell. — Easy  to  grow  and 
always  attractive.  The  genus  numbers  several  fine  spe- 
cies, such  as  C.  Carpathica,  C.  medium^  C.  noUlis,  C, 
punctata,  C.  rotundifolia,  C.  grandis,  etc. 

Chrysanthemum. — This  genus  contains  several  hardy 
species,  some  of  them  known  as  daisies  or  marguerites. 
Probably  C.  maximum  is  the  best,  though  others  are 
very  good. 

Coreopsis. — Fine,  free-flowering  plants  with  large, 
golden  blossoms.  C.  grandiflora  and  C.  lanceolata  are 
the  best  of  the  perennial  species.     Fine  for  cut  flowers. 

Delphinium,  Larkspur. — The  perennial  larkspurs 
are  very  showy  and  valuable  plants.  They  may  be  had 
in  numerous  species  and  varieties.  Those  commonly 
grown  are  hybrids. 

Digitalis,  Foxglove. — Well  known  plants  of  easiest 
culture,  free  flowering  and  always  desirable.  The  com- 
monest species,  with  very  large  flowers  in  a  variety  of 
colors,  goes  unrler  tlie  doubtful  name  of  D.  gloxinimflora; 
but  B.  lanata,  D.  Siberica  and  D.  grandiflora  are 
equally  fine. 

Helenium. — A  very  fine  and  striking  plant,  partic- 
ularly the  vai-iety,  H,  autumnale  superbum.  Furnishes 
a  dazzling  glow  of  yellow  late  in  summer  when  flowers 
are  scarce.     Six  to  eight  feet. 

Helianthus,  Sunflower. — Some  of  the  perennial 
species  are  very  useful  in  border  composition.  The  best 
are  H.  Maximillani  and  H.  orgyalis.  These  give  very 
striking,  though  easy  and  natural,  effects. 

Hollyhock. — The  old  favorite,  and  one  of  the  most 
artistically  effective  plants  known.      In  many  colors. 


HARDY   PERENNIALS. 


127 


single  and  double.  Subject  to  severe  attacks  of  rust, 
which  sometimes  kill  the  plants.  In  such  cases  burn 
the  old  phmts  and  all  the  litter  around  them  and  plant 
anew  in  a  different  spot. 


T 

^ 

m 

\ 

•         /      / 

\m 

d\ 

i/5  Jv  .. 

w^ 

''IF'' 

•■-'•''  'I'fi 

»■■ 

,  ...    _-Pj 

FIG.  32.      ICELAND    POPPY. 


Lepachys. — A  very  desirable  genu.'^  comprising  only 
a  few  species,  of  which  L.  jnmiata  and  L.  colnmnaris 
are  worth  first  trial. 

(Enothera. — Comprises  several  good  species,  mostly 
with  large  yellow  flowers.  The  best  are  (E.  Missourim- 
sis,  (E,  fruticosa  major  and  Q^.  Fraseri. 


128  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

Papaver,  Poppy. — One  of  the  most  delicate  and 
beautiful  of  hardy  plants  is  the  Iceland  poppy,  Papaver 
mulicaule.  The  Eoyal  scarlet  poppy,  P.  orientale,  is  a 
large  and  very  showy  species. 

Pentstemon. — This  genus  numbers  several  of  the 
very  best  herbaceous  plants  known  to  horticulture. 
'J'hey  are  hardy  and  easy  to  manage.  Among  the  best 
are  P.  digitalis,  P.  (/ra?idiflorus,  P.  puhescens,  P.  con- 
fertus,  P.  harhahis  Torreyi,  P.  acuminatus  and  P. 
ovatus.  There  are  several  others,  and  not  a  i)oor  one 
among  them. 

Peonv. — Too  well  known  to  need  remark.  Usually 
grown  alone  on  the  lawn,  but  much  finer  >vhen  massed  in 
the  border  against  the  shrubbery.     Propagate  by  division. 

Phlox. — The  well-known  and  showy  perennial 
phlox  of  the  gardens  is  P.  panlculatay  often  called  P. 
decussata,  which  has  numberless  fine  varieties.  Several 
of  the  native  species  are  also  very  useful  for  border 
planting,  especially  P.  maculata  and  P.  divaricata. 

Rudheckia,  Coneflower. — Large,  strong-growing, 
hardy  plants.  The  best  is  the  new  variety.  Golden 
Glow,  which  belongs  to  the  species  R.  laclniata.  E. 
maxima,  R.  hirta  and  R.  Newmaiiii  are  excellent. 

SoLiDAGo,  Goldenrod. — A  characteristically  Amer- 
ican genus  of  incomparable  beauty.  The  only  reason 
people  do  not  plant  them  extensively  is  that  they  grow 
wild  so  abundantly.  But  no  garden  should  be  without 
its  masses  of  goldenrod.  The  best  species  for  ])lauting 
are  ^S'.  Canadensis,  S,  sempervirens,  S.  jimcea,  S.  nemo- 
ralis  and  S.  speciosa. 

Spik.^a. — Several  of  the  spiraeas  are  herbaceous. 
They  are  all  useful.  The  best  known  are  S.  arimcus, 
8.  astilhoides,  S.  palmaia  and  S.  vemista. 

Trillium. — One  of  the  most  beautiful  blossoms  of 
early  si)ring.  T.  grandifiornm,  bearing  large,  pure 
white  flowers,  is  best.     Prefers  a  somewhat  shady  place. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   II^-DISPENSABLE   ANNUALS. 

The  greatest  possibilities  with  coloi-  in  the  garden  depend 
upon  the  annuals.  F.  Scluujler  Mathews. 

For  tlie  best  and  most  continiions  display  of  flowers  dur- 
ing  the  whole  summer  season,  annual  i^lants  are  essential, 

E.  O.  Orpet. 

The  old-fashioned  flower  gardens  were  hirgely  made 
up  of  annuals.  Among  flowers,  by  far  the  larger  part 
of  the  old-time  favorites  were  annuals ;  and  it  is  j)rob- 
able  that  nine  out  of  ten  persons  to-day,  if  asked  to  men- 
tion their  favorite  flowers  (florists'  stock  excepted), 
would  name  annuals.  Sweet  peas,  pansies,  asters,  cos- 
mos, nasturtiums, — these  have  a  hold  on  people  which 
they  will  never  lose. 

And  so,  while  it  is  possible  to  find  many  pleasant 
gardons, — in  snug  back  yards,  or  window  boxes  or 
tomato  cans, — without  trees  and  shrubs  and  perennials, 
the  annuals  are  omnipresent.  Their  great  variety,  their 
adaptability  to  all  needs  and  circumstances,  the  innu- 
merable, characteristically  beautiful  ways  they  have  of 
expressing  themselves,  make  tliem  always  indispensable. 
A  striking  effect  produced  by  annuals  is  seen  in  Fig.  c<3. 

Almost  all  of  the  annuals  may  be  grown  success- 
fully by  sowing  the  seeds  where  the  plants  are  to  stand. 
This  is  done  when  the  weather  is  warm  enough  in 
spring,  and  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  in  good  workable  con- 
dition. The  seed  bed  should  always  be  thoroughly  pre- 
pared, with  good  drainage  and  an  abundance  of  well- 
decomposed  fertilizer  worked  in.  But  it  is  much  the 
best  plan,  especially  in  northern  latitudes,  wherever  it 
9  129 


130 


LAifDSCAPE   GARDE^OfG. 


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P  u 

W  o 

<  r 

>'  3 

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w  3 


e  o 


THE   IXDISPENSABLE  AN"KUALS.  131 

can  be  done,  to  start  tlic  plants  in  hotbeds,  cold  frames,* 
greenhouses,  or  boxes  of  earth  in  the  house,  from  which 
they  are  transplanted  to  the  open  ground.  Considerable 
time  is  gained  in  this  way, — often  one  or  two  months. 
Nearly  all  the  annual  species  may  be  handled  in  this 
way.  There  are  a  few  exceptions.  But  many  sorts 
make  much  better  plants  by  transplanting ;  and  it  is 
often  advisable,  to  transplant  the  seedlings  once  before 
thev  reach  their  final  stations  in  the  i^rounds. 

The  commonest  error,  in  growing  annuals,  is  to 
plant  them  in  flower  beds.  Tb.is  mistake  is  frequently 
made  with  other  plants,  but  never  so  persistently  and 
disastrously  as  with  phloxes,  zinnias,  marigolds  and 
their  like.  If  a  strictly  geometrical  scheme  is  intended, 
or  if  the  garden  is  one  of  the  old  Italian  st^de,  with  a 
high  wall  abont  it,  then  flower  beds  will  fit  the  i)lace. 
But  in  the  free  and  natural  door-yard  gardening,  with 
wdiich  we  are  most  concerned,  the  whole  picture  is  sadly 
disfigured  when  it  is  cut  full  of  holes  to  receive  strange, 
detached  bunches  of  unwilling  flowers  in  varied  assort- 
ment. There  they  stand  alxait  uncomfortably  through 
the  summer,  each  bunch  of  flowers  jealous  of  its  neigh- 
bo]*s,  all  appearing  to  be  afraid  of  overstepping  the  cir- 
cumscribing bricks,  stones  or  oyster  shells  wdiich  hem 
them  in,  all  chafing  at  the  restraint,  and  all  wishing 
they  were  safely  away  in  the  woods,  wdiere  they  might 
clamber  down  the  banks  or  revel  in  the  grass  the  way 
flowers  were  meant  to  do. 

The  annual  ])lants  ought  to  be  put,  not  into  beds, 
but  into  the  borders  with  the  perennials  and  the  shrubs. 
Or  if  shrubs  and  perennials  are  not  grown,  then  the 
annuals  have  the  border  to  themselves. '    Arranged  in 


•Directions  for  making  cold  frames  and  hotbeds  of  all  sorts  may 
be  found  in  any  general  work  on  gardeninj;.  See  Bailey's  Garden- 
Making,  Taft's  Greenhouse  Construction,  Henderson's  Gardening  for 
Profit,  etc.,  etc. 


132  LANDSCAPE  GARDENINQ. 

this  way,  they  are  capable  of  some  of  the  most  brilliant 
and  satisfying  effects  which  2:)lants  can  ever  giYe.  In 
the  irregularity  and  informality  of  the  border  it  makes 
no  difference  if  one  plant  or  a  whole  lot  of  plants  fails  to 
grow.  The  irregularity  is  not  destroyed !  Or  if  some 
celandines  or  dandelions  crowd  into  a  half  occupied 
nook  somewhere,  there  is  no  harm  done,  for  flowers  are 
what  we  want.  It  would  be  different  if  we  wanted 
flower  beds. 

The  first  and  easiest  and  greatest  improvement  to 
be  made  in  hundreds  of  front  yards  would  be  to  obliter- 
ate the  flower  beds  entirely, — sod  them  over,  and  leave 
an  open  greensward  where  they  have  stood  in  the  middle 
of  the  lawn, — and  move  the  flowers  into  the  side  borders. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  describe  the  principal 
annuals  nor  to  give  directions  for  their  cultivation ;  but 
the  following  partial  list,  with  scattering  notes,  is 
appended  merely  as  a  suggestion  of  the  manifold  riches 
at  command. 

Asters. — The  annual  or  "China"  asters  have  been 
very  much  improved  in  recent  years.  The  old-time 
asters  were  too  stiff  and  formal  to  gain  much  sympathy, 
but  the  new  sorts,  particularly  the  branching  and  the 
chrysanthemum  flowering  sections,  are  free  and  graceful 
and  very  fine.  The  new  Japanese  asters  are  also  infor- 
mal and  agreeable.  The  better  strains  of  tlie  German 
quilled  asters  are  extremely  good,  and  quite  different 
from  other  varieties.  Asters  should  always  be  started 
in  a  hotbed  and  transplanted  if  possible. 

Alyssum. — A  good  old  favorite.  Works  nicely  into 
the  edges  of  the  flower  border. 

Ageratum. — Constant  bloomer  during  summer,  in 
white  and  bright  blue ;  good  in  the  edges  of  borders. 
Six  to  eighteen  inches  high. 

Antirrhinum,  Snapdragon. — Many  fine  colors,  from 
white  nearly  to  black,  in  dwarf  and  standard  varieties. 


THE  INDISPENSABLE  ANNUALS.  133 

To  be  used  mostly  in  small  masses.  Six  inclies  to 
two  feet. 

Balsams. — Old-time  favorites,  but  not  very  useful 
in  comi3osition  with,  other  plants.  They  do  not  trans- 
plant well. 

Calendula,  called  Pot  Marigold  by  some. — Thrifty 
and  a  constant  bloomer,  mostly  in  yellow  and  orange 
shades.     Ten  to  eighteen  inches. 

Candytuft. — Good,  free  flowering,  hardy  border 
plant,  in  several  colors,  pure  white  being  best. 

Centaurea,  Corn  Bottle,  Blue  Bottle,  or  Bachelor's 
Button. — Another  old  favorite,  running  mostly  to  light 
blues.  A  new  strain  of  Marguerite  cenfcaureas  has  a 
better  form  and  more  substance  to  the  blossoms. 

Celosia,  including  Cockscomb.  This  group  num- 
bers some  very  ornamental  plants,  especially  the  feath- 
ered varieties  and  those  with  ornamental  foliage. 

Coreopsis,  Calliopsis. — All  bright  yellows,  with 
unimportant  exceptions.  Some  of  the  finest  flowering 
plants  grown  for  border  or  for  cut  flowers.  C,  Drum- 
mondii  (var.  Golden  Yrave)  is  best  of  the  annual  sj^ecies. 
C.  tindoria  gives  many  pretty  dwarf  varieties,  and  some 
with  quilled,  others  with  dark  maroon,  blossoms.  One 
to  three  feet. 

Cosmos. — One  of  the  finest  annuals,  especially 
southward.  Does  not  succeed  well  at  the  north.  In 
white  and  several  shades  of  j^ink  and  red.  The  white 
blossoms  are  prettiest.     Three  to  six  feet. 

Datura,  Horn  of  Plenty,  '^Jimpson  Weed."- -A 
large,  coarse  plant,  giving  a  striking  effect  at  a  little 
distance.  Has  conspicuous,  large  white  flowers.  Four 
to  eight  feet. 

Dianthus,  Pink. — A  good  old  favorite,  and  worth 
more  general  cultivation  at  the  present  time.  Many 
colors,  single  and  double. 

Gaillardia. — Fine  flowers  for  border  and  for  cut- 
ting; reds  and  yellows;  somewhat  daisy-like  in  form. 


134  LANDSCAPE  GARDENIKa. 

except  the  double  G,  Lorenziana,  "Worth  more  exten> 
sive  cultivation. 

Nasturtium,  Tropoeolum. — One  of  the  richest  and 
finest  annual  plants  in  cultivation  and  deservedly  popu- 
lar. All  varieties  may  he  grown  in  the  border,  though 
the  dwarfs  are  best.  The  tall  sorts  are  extremely  well 
adapted  to  window  boxes,  lawn  vases,  and  to  situations 
where  they  may  fall  over  rocks  or  down  sliort  slopes. 
The  new  hybrids  of  Madame  Guntcr  show  many  beau- 
tiful colors. 

Pansy. — Known  and  admired  of  all.  For  small 
plantings  buy  plants  of  the  florist  in  spring.  To  grow 
the  plants  sow  the  seed  in  the  fall  in  cold  frames,  which 
are  covered  at  the  beginning  of  winter.  Transplant 
from  these  early  in  spring.  Or  sow  the  seeds  as  early  as 
possible  in  spring  in  the  hotbed  or  in  pots  or  boxes  in 
the  house.     Buy  good  seed. 

Petunia. — Very  fine  for  heavy  masses  in  the  flower 
border.  A  solid  block  of  petunias  thirty  or  forty  feet 
across  gives  a  very  striking  effect,  if  not  out  of  harmony 
with  its  surroundings.  The  free  and  easy  luxuriance  of 
grow^th  and  2:)rofusion  of  bloom  cannot  be  surpassed  by 
anything  in  the  garden.  Extra  choice  varieties  may 
easily  be  grown  from  cuttings;  but  main  dependence 
may  be  placed  on  seedlings  grown  in  fall,  winter  or  early 
spring,  and  transplanted  to  the  oi^en  ground  after  all 
danger  of  frost  is  j^ast. 

Phlox. — The  annual  Phlox  Dinimmondii  is  one  of 
the  finest  border  plants.  Many  2)eople  have  become 
indifferent  to  it  from  having  seen  it  so  often  grown  in 
stiff,  awkward  flower  beds.  Such  treatment  takes  all 
the  grace  and  freedom  out  of  the  plant,  which  is  inclined 
by  nature  to  be  a  trifle  stiff  and  serious.  But  when  it  is 
allowed  to  form  free,  irregular  masses  in  the  border, 
properly  suiDi^orted  by  other  flowers,  it  is  a  very  charm- 
ing plant. 


THB  IITDISPENSABLB  ANNUALS,  135 

Poppy. — The  annual  poppies  are  very  striking  in 
color  and  graceful  in  form.  They  always  seem  at  home 
in  the  mixed  border,  harmonizing  with  almost  anything. 
The  Shirley  poppies  are  especially  desirable,  but  there  is 
hardly  a  variety  grown  which  is  not  an  acquisition. 

EiciNus,  Castor-oil  bean.— These  plants,  of  several 
different  species,  give  grand  summer  effects.  The  vari- 
eties with  dark  foliage  are  especially  beautiful.  Should 
be  started  early. 

Stocks. — Old  favorites,  but  neglected  in  late  years. 
Very  useful  in  the  border. 

Sunflowers. — Several  sorts,  all  useful  on  account 
of  the  emj^hasis  they  give  to  certain  points  in  the  border 
planting.     Plant  early. 

Sweet  Pea. — One  of  the  finest  plants  known  for 
cut  flowers  and  quite  indispensable,  but  not  well  adapted 
to  the  hardy  border.  They  are  usually  best  put  by 
themselves,  where  they  may  have  a  trellis  and  good  cul- 
tivation. They  should  be  sown  in  the  open  ground  at 
the  earliest  possible  moment  in  the  spring,  or  may  even 
be  sown  in  the  fall.  The  selection  of  varieties  is  wholly 
a  matter  of  j^ersonal  taste.  There  are  several  useful 
little  manuals  which  the  sweet  pea  lover  should  consult. 

Verbexa. — The  low,  prostrate  habit  of  verbenas 
does  not  best  suit  them  to  mixed  j^lantings  in  the  nat- 
ural method.  A  few  of  them  may  be  used,  however,  in 
certain  parts  of  the  border,  especially  where  the  plant- 
ings come  directly  beside  a  footpath. 

ZixxTAs. — Well-known,  old-fashioned  flowers,  but 
useful  in  many  places.  The  newer  varieties  show  some 
fine  shades  of  color. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A   FEW  BULBOUS   PLAKTS. 

No  garden  should  be  without  a  bed  of  bulbs.  Beginning 
so  early  in  the  season,— weeks  and  weeks  before  the  blooni' 
ing  period  of  the  earliest  annuals,— their  brilliant  and  beau- 
tiful flowers  are  enjoyed  more  than  those  of  summer. 

jE.  E.  liexford. 

Nothing  can  exceed  the  brilliancy  and  variety  of  color 
displayed  by  their  flowers,  and  nothing  can  be  more  simple 
than  their  culture.  Mrs.  Loudon. 

Along  with  the  herbaceous  perennuils  naturally 
come  the  hardy  and  lialf-liardy  bulbous  plants.  They 
have  in  general  the  same  requirements  and  the  same 
capabilities  as  the  herbaceous  perennials.  Many  of  them 
will  live  untended  in  the  open  border  quite  without  pro- 
tection, and  thrive  niid  blossom  year  after  year.  Some 
require  winter  protection,  but  all  of  those  named  here 
will  last  without  replantiug  for  several  or  many  years. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  few  or  none  of  these  plants 
are  desirable  for  their  foliage.  They  are  all  grown  for 
the  brilliancy  of  their  blossoms.  This  requires  that 
they  be  judiciously  set  to  show  against  shrubs  or  such 
other  foliage-covered  plants  as  shall  give  them  a  suitable 
background.  This  is  seldom  taken  into  consideration. 
Lilies,  gladioli  and  irises  are  almost  always  planted  by 
themselves.  They  are  left  without  support.  They  look 
lost  and  out  of  place.  Anyone  can  see,  as  soon  as  it  is 
mentioned,  how  much  better  they  would  look  comfort- 
ably grouped  with  other  plants. 

The  following  list  includes  the  best  bulbous  plants, 
with  a  few  which  do  not  grow  from  the  bulbs,  but 
which,  in  view  of  the  use  we  make  of  them,  may  be 
best  understood  just  here. 

136 


A  FEW  BULBOUS  PLANTS.  137 

Crocuses. — Almost  the  first  flowers  of  spring,  and 
always  welcome  for  their  earliness  and  freshness  VVhere 
shrubs  and  herbaceous  plants  are  grown  in  an  open  bor- 
der, crocuses  may  be  thickly  planted  in  narrow  rows 
along  tlie  extreme  edge  next  the  grass.  One  of  the 
most  satisfactory  ways  to  grow  crocuses  is  to  scatter 
them  thickly  in  the  grass,  where  they  will  usually  come 
up  every  spring  without  further  care. 

Dahlia. — The  dahlia  is  enjoying  just  now  a  well- 
deserved  renewal  of  public  favor.  Many  fine  new  varie- 
ties are  being  offered  by  the  dealers,  and  great  satisfac- 
tion is  to  be  got  out  of  their  culture.  The  cactus 
varieties  are  the  most  informal  and  appeal  more  strongly 
than  the  older  types  to  most  tastes ;  but  the  single  vari- 
eties and  the  smaller  pompons,  as  well  as  the  mammoth 
blossoms  of  the  most  regular  outlines,  have  all  their  vari- 
ous agreeable  exj^ressions. 

Erythronium,  Dog's-Tooth  violet.  —  These  little 
early  flowering  plants  are  very  delicate  and  beautiful. 
There  are  several  fine  species  and  varieties,  nearly  all 
of  which  are  hardy. 

Gladiolus. — The  gladiolus  is  one  of  the  most  strik- 
ing and  effective  flowers  in  the  garden  when  nicely 
grouped  with  other  plants.  When  put  by  itself  and 
with  no  company  but  an  unpainted  stick,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  awkward  and  ungainly  sights  on  the  lawn.  The 
gladioli  are  especially  useful  for  grouping  in  small 
masses  among  shrubs.  There  are  hundreds  of  fine  vari- 
eties, in  many  colors,  but  yellows  and  reds  are  best, 
especially  reds.  The  bright  reds  and  carmines  seem  to 
be  the  best  suited  to  the  character  of  the  plants. 

Iris. — There  are  some  fine,  hardy,  native  irises,  and 
a  great  many  hardy  and  tender  species  of  great  beauty 
from  all  over  the  world  which  may  be  grown  with  a 
little  care.  Among  the  best  are  /.  Susiana  and  /.  Siher- 
ica.     The  many  varieties  of  German  iris  are  all  desirable ; 


138 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 


and  tlie  Japan  irises,  /.  Kcempferi,  are  among  the  most 
gorgeous  flowers  ever  seen  in  temperate  climates. 

Lily. — The  noblest  of  flowering  plants.  Lilies 
should  be  scattered  liberally  in  every  flower  border. 
They  harmonize  well  with  shrubs  and  herbaceous  peren- 
nials, and  the  annuals  may  be  mixed  with  them  to  gi'cat 
advantage.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the  best  species 
for  garden  culture  :  L.  aiiratum,  Gold-banded  Japan 
lily,  one  of  the  most  popular  and  magnificent;  flowers 


FIG.  34.     LILIUM  SPECIOSUM. 


very  large,  white,  banded  with  gold  and  spotted  with 
red;  requires  replanting  from  time  to  time.  L.  Inlhi- 
ferum,  a  moderate  sized  European  species  ;  flowers  red. 
L.  Browni,  one  of  the  finest,  bears  three  to  four  flow- 
ers, seven  to  eight  inches  long,  chocolate  brown  outside, 
pure  white  within.  L.  Cmmflense,  the  common  meadow 
lily,  hardy,  abundant  bloomer,  useful,  in  several  shades 
of  red  and  yellow.  L.  elegan.^,  a  very  showy  species, 
with  large  flowers  in  several  shades  of  red  and  .  orange. 


A  FEW  BULBOUS  PLANTS.  139 

L.  elega^is  fulge7is  {Batemcmnim)  is  especially  showy  and 
fine.  X.  Grayiy  a  fine,  delicate,  native  species,  small  flow- 
ers, red.  L.  2)^iienilum  (Humholdti) ,  very  strong  and 
handsome,  bears  large  orange-red  flowers.  L.  Henryi, 
a  new  and  rare  species,  but  one  of  the  most  magnificent ; 
should  be  planted  by  everyone  w^ho  can  afford  it;  flowers 
large,  orange.  L.  Japonicum  Krameri,  large  flowers  of 
a  very  delicate  pink  tint,  quite  unique.  L.  longifloniniy 
a  fine,  large,  white  lily.  L.  candidum,  the  common 
white  lily,  nearly  hardy,  a  free  bloomer  and  very  attrac- 
tive. X.  pardalinn77i,  flowers  orange,  with  lighter  cen- 
ter, a  good  sort.  L.  sujjerhum,  a  strong  native  species, 
bearing  large  numbers  of  red  or  orange  blossoms.  L. 
sjjeciosiim,  Fig.  34,  one  of  the  very  best,  especially  the 
variety  riibrum.  L.  tenuifoliinn,  the  Coral  lily ;  some- 
what dwarf,  with  many  brilliant,  coral-red  blossoms  ; 
very  desirable.  L,  tigrinnm^  the  well-known  tiger 
lily ;  good.  Most  of  these  are  better  if  covered  in  win- 
ter with  a  mulch. 

Narcissus. — This  genus  includes  several  plants  of 
great  usefulness  in  the  hardy  garden.  The  trumpet 
narcissi,  often  called  daffodils,  are  especially  fine,  either 
in  the  general  border  or  naturalized  in  the  grass.  Some 
of  the  best  sorts  for  outdoor  culture  are  Horsfieldi, 
Emperor,  Empress,  Bulbocodium,  Poet  narcissus.  Trum- 
pet Major  and  Incomparabilis.  Narcissi  can  best  be 
transplanted  in  June  and  July. 

Tuberoses  may  be  planted  in  the  flower  garden  or 
border  with  considerable  satisfaction.  They  should  be 
set  in  fall  and  covered  with  a  mulch. 

Tulips  make  fine  displays  in  early  spring,  and  for  a 
week  the  open  bed  in  mid-lawn  is  almost  bearable,  so 
that  we  forget  the  manure  heap  which  has  been  there  all 
winter  and  the  inharmoniousness  of  the  plan  in  general. 
But  tulips  may  also  be  scattered  in  the  border  with 
other  plants,  or  even  set  into  the  turf.     There  are  many 


140 


LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 


magnificent  species  and  yarieties  listed  and  described  in 
all  catalogs. 

Yucca. — Nurserymen  usually  classify  the  yuccas 
with  the  bulbous  plants,  and  perhaps  they  are  as  much 
at  liome  here  as  anywhere.     They  must  be  used  with 


FIG.  35.     YUCCA  FILAMENTOSA. 

Central  Park,  New  York. 


caution,  but  in  surroundings  somewhat  picturesque  they 
may  be  introduced  with  fine  efPect.  Yucca  Ulamentosa, 
P'ig.  35,  is  the  species  most  generally  used,  but  Y^  angus- 
tifolia  is  also  desirable. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

CLIMBERS. 

Hove  these  immense  wreaths  of  vine  which  extend  far 
and  wide  in  rich  green  garlands,  and  wliicli  become,  in 
autumn,  of  a  splendid  purple.  ...  At  the  extremity  of 
my  garden  the  vine  extends  in  long  porticoes,  through  the 
arcades  of  which  may  he  seen  trees  of  all  sorts  and  foliage 
of  all  colors.  Alphonse  Karr. 

As  found  growing  wild,  the  hard-wooded  climbers  and 
trailers  afford  some  of  the  most  delightful  hits  of  natural 
scenery  to  be  met  with.  Many  of  these  serve  valuable  pur- 
poses for  embellishments  in  ornamental  gardening. 

E.  A.  Long. 

In  making  np  a  landscape  picture  proper,  climbers 
are  of  minor  importance.  Their  chief  use,  in  purely 
naturalistic  compositions,  is  not  for  climbing,  but  for 
trailing  over  rocks,  or  down  sloping  banks,  or  for  clam- 
bering  over  low  bushes.  In  such  situations  as  these 
they  are  very  effective. 

But  when  buildings  are  introduced,  and  fences  have 
to  be  dealt  with,  and  other  more  unsightly  objects  need 
amelioration  or  concealment,  the  climbers  are  indispen- 
sable. In  the  shading  and  adornment  of  porches  they 
play  no  insignificant  part  in  the  list  of  the  gardener's 
materials. 

I  wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  no  climber 
ought  to  be  planted  on  level  ground  unless  there  be  first 
some  suitable  support  on  which  it  is  to  climb.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  find  cases  in  which  the  climber  was  first 
planted,  and  afterward  some  crazy  and  impertinent 
structure  was  arranged  to  meet  its  demands.  This  is 
one  of  the  ways  of  losing  naturalness,  along  with  all 
other  kinds  of  beauty. 

141 


143  LANDSCAPE  GAKDENING. 

Wherever  a  permanent  planting  can  be  made,  peren- 
nial climbing  plants  will  usually  be  the  more  desirable. 
But  for  temporary  and  immediate  effects,  or  to  reinforce 
perennial  climbers  where  they  are  too  thin,  or  for  win- 
dow boxes,  and  similar  purposes,  the  annual  climbing 
plants  are  of  great  value.  Some  species  of  the  latter  may 
be  started  early  in  the  house,  and  transplanted  on  t  of  doors 
as  soon  as  frost  is  past,  so  as  to  gain  an  earlier  effect. 
TJie  following  brief  list  includes  the  most  useful  sorts. 

HARDY   PERENNIAL     CLIMBERS. 

AcTiNiDiA. — White  flowers  with  purple  centers. 
Still  rare  in  this  country,  but  destined  to  be  popular. 

Akebia  quinata. — A  dainty  little  climber  from 
Japan,  with  small,  five-parted  leaves.  Desirable  where 
a  large  quantity  of  foliage  is  not  required. 

Ampelopsis. — The  American  ivy,  Virginia  Creeper, 
or  Woodbine,  A,  quinquefolia,  is  one  of  the  commonest, 
best  and  most  widely  useful  of  all  climbers.  The  Jap- 
anese, or  Boston  ivy.  A,  VeitcJni,  is  excellent  for  cover- 
ing stone  or  brick  walls,  particularly  the  latter. 

Aristolociiia  Sipho,  Dutchman's  Pipe  Vine. — A 
very  hardy,  vigorous  climber,  with  large  leaves.  One  of 
the  best,  especially  in  the  northern  states. 

Celastrus  scandens,  Bittersweet. — One  of  the 
very  best  and  hardiest  climbers.  To  be  recommended 
everywhere. 

Clematis,  Virgin's  Bower. — Several  species  and 
horticultural  varieties  of  this  group  come  up  for  consid- 
eration wherever  climbers  are  wanted.  The  thrifty  spe- 
cies with  garlands  of  white  flowers, — C.  paniculata,  C. 
flammula,  C.  Virginiana,  C.  7iiontana, — are  the  most 
useful.  C.  Jackmanii  is  always  a  favorite,  for  its  large 
blue  flowers,  thouoh  it  has  nothing  else  to  recommend 
it.  Many  other  varieties  bearing  beautiful,  showy  flow- 
ers are  to  be  had  of  the  dealers. 


CLIMBERS.  143 

LoNicERA,  Honeysuckle. — Hall's  honeysuckle,  with 
its  white  or  yellowish,  very  fragrant  flowers  is  a  favor- 
ite plant,  especially  southward.  The  old-fashioned 
climbing  Trumpet  honeysuckle,  L.  sempervirenSy  is 
very  useful  for  neglected  situations. 

Menispekmum  Canadexse,  Moon  Seed. — A  slen- 
der, twining  plant  which  makes  a  nice  addition  to  a 
collection. 

Tecoma,  Trumpet  Flower,  or  Trumpet  Creeper. — 
This  is  a  most  excellent  plant  where  a  somewhat  way- 
ward informality  of  habit  is  agreeable  to  the  surround- 
ings.    Deserves  more  general  use. 

Wistaria. — An  old-time  favorite.  Useful  in  many 
situations,  but  not  sufficiently  fresh  and  tidy  in  foliage 
to  come  under  constant  close  observation. 

ANNUAL    CLIMBERS. 

Balloon  Vine. — An  old-time  favorite,  to  be  found 
in  all  the  old-fashioned  gardens.  The  puffy,  inflated 
seed  vessels  which  appear  throughout  the  summer  are 
the  most  striking  feature. 

EcHiNocYSTis  LOBATA,  Climbing  Cucumber. — A 
rapid-growing,  luxuriant  climber  from  the  Ameri- 
can woods,  covered  with  garlands  of  white  flowers 
throughout  the  season.  One  of  the  best  for  common 
planting. 

Hop  Vine. — One  of  the  most  rapid  growing  and 
useful  climbers.  It  is  one  of  the  best  annual  plants  for 
covering  verandas  or  other  large  areas.  The  "Varie- 
gated-leaved Japan  hop"  is  preferred  by  some,  though 
the  effect  is  not  always  good. 

Maurandya. — Eather  short  climbers  with  abundant 
white,  pink  or  violet-purple  blossoms.  Suited  to  more 
general  use. 

MiNA. — A  pretty  and  useful  plant  of  the  morning 
glory  family,  but  with  small  flowers  and  lobed  leaves. 


144  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

MoMORDicA,  Balsam  Apple. — A  favorite  in  old* 
fashioned  gardens,  and  always  good. 

Morning  Glory,  Ipomoea. — This  glorious  and  old- 
fashioned  climber  has  been  too  much  neglected  by  mod- 
ern amateur  and  professional  gardeners.  There  are 
many  magnificent  new  varieties  now  on  the  market,  and 
they  are  so  useful  for  many  purposes  that  they  ought 
to  enjoy  a  new  lease  of  public  favor. 

Sweet  Pea. — The  sweet  pea  needs  no  introduction 
or  praise.  In  climbing  over  fences  and  low  trellises  it 
is  thoroughly  at  home,  while  no  known  j^lant  gives  a 
finer  harvest  of  flowers  suitable  for  cutting. 

Trop^olum,  Nasturtium. — The  climbing  nastur- 
tiums are  extra  fine  for  window  boxes,  lawn  vases,  and 
many  other  places.  It  is  worth  while,  in  planting  nas- 
turtiums, to  choose  the  best-bred  named  varieties.  The 
varieties  known  as  "Lobb's  nasturtiums"  and  the 
** Madame  Gunter  hybrids"  are  especially  thrifty  in 
growth  and  rich  in  gorgeous  colors. 


APPENDIX. 


SOME    BOOKS    ON    LANDSCAPE    GARDENING. 

The  literature  of  landscape  gardening  is  not  exten- 
sive, but  choice.  Probably  the  best  things,  from  the 
literary  standpoint,  connected  with  agriculture,  horti- 
culture and  rural  affairs,  are  by  all  odds  the  books  and 
essays  which  deal  with  picture  gardening.  With  this 
literature  the  earnest  student  or  ambitious  practical  gar- 
dener will  naturally  wish  to  acquaint  himself.  For  this 
reason  there  are  here  given  a  few  references  to  the  most 
useful  and  accessible  works  on  the  subject.  The  list  is 
not  at  all  full.  Those  who  care  for  an  extended  bibli- 
ography of  the  subject  may  consult  Mrs.  Van  Eensselaer's 
admirable  book,  *'Art  out  of  Doors,"  and  also  Mr. 
Henry  Sargent  Codman's  notes  in  Vol.  Ill  (1890)  of 
Garden  and  Forest. 

Many  of  the  best  short  essays  on  landscape  garden- 
ing subjects  are  to  be  found  in  the  volumes  of  our 
American  horticultural  journals.  The  old  volumes  of 
Downing's  Horticulturist,  of  Garden  and  Forest,  Amer- 
ican Gardening  and  Pojmlar  Gardening  are  especially 
rich  in  matter  of  this  sort.  The  classical  essays  of 
Andrew  Jackson  Downing,  afterward  collected  and 
edited  by  George  William  Curtis  for  the  volume  of  Rural 
Essays,  appeared  first  as  editorials  in  the  Horticulturist; 
and  the  editorials  of  Professor  Sargent  and  Mr.  Stiles  in 
Garden  and  Forest  have,  many  of  them,  an  equal  per- 
manent literary  and  technical  value.  The  man  or 
woman  who  is  interested  in  following  out  the  literature 
10  145 


146  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING. 

of  gardening  must  not  forget  to  give  patient  study  to 
the  files  of  these  magazines. 

For  the  student  or  reader  wlio  is  thoroughly 
enthused  with  the  spirit  of  landscape  study,  and  espe- 
cially if  one  is  studying  the  subject  for  the  sake  of  his 
own  personal  pleasure  in  it  rather  than  for  the  immedi- 
ate good  he  may  derive  in  planting  shrubs,  there  is 
another  considerable  field  of  literature  which  he  will  do 
well  to  explore  to  the  full  extent  of  his  opportunities. 
These  are  the  essays  and  books  whicli,  under  one  name 
and  another,  deal  with  the  beauties  of  rural  life  and  are 
filled  with  the  atmosphere  of  woods,  lakes  and  moun- 
tains. Merely  as  examples  of  such  we  may  remember 
John  Burroughs  (of  whose  books  Winter  Sunshine 
should  be  named  first  in  this  connection),  the  essays  of 
Donald  G.  Mitchell  (Ik.  Marvel),  tlie  diaries  of  Thoreau, 
and  Charles  Dudley  Warner's  Summer  in  a  Garden.  It 
would  have  been  a  pleasure  to  tlie  writer  to  include 
a  bibliograpliy  of  these  books  in  this  chai^ter;  but  as 
that  cannot  be  done,  the  reader  will  depend  on  libra- 
rians and  book  dealers  who  everywhere  know  and  prize 
these  books. 

In  the  following  much  abridged  list  of  books  on 
landscape  gardening  only  tliose  are  included  which  are 
of  the  most  direct  value  to  the  beginner.  By  the  time 
he  has  thoroughly  studied  these  his  horizon  will  have 
been  so  far  enlarged  that  he  can  select  his  reading  for 
himself  better  than  anyone  can  do  it  for  him. 

EUROPEAN    BOOKS. 

Amherst,  Alicia,  History  of  Gardening  in  Eng- 
land, London,  1885.  A  very  complete  and  satisfying 
treatise  on  the  subject. 

Andre,  Edouard,  L'Art  des  Jardins,  1879.  The 
most  complete  and  thoroughly  useful  work  on  this  sub- 
ject in  any  language.     Finely  illustrated. 


APPENDIX.  147 

Bacon,  Lord  Francis,  Of  Gardens,  in  his  essays, 
1625. 

Gilpin,  ^"illiam,  Observations  on  Picturesque 
Beauty,  1786.  Also,  Remarks  on  Forest  Scenery.  The 
latter  especially  is  worth  careful  reading. 

Jaeger,  H.,  Lehrbuch  der  Gartenkunst,  1877.  One 
of  the  best  German  works  on  the  subject.  Probably  the 
best  history  of  landscape  gardening  in  general  is  by  the 
same  author,  and  is  entitled  Gartenkunst  und  Gaerten, 
Sonst  und  Jetzt.     1885. 

LouDox,  J.  C.,  Hints  on  the  Formation  of  Gardens 
and  Pleasure  Grounds,  1812. 

Price,  Sir  Uvedale,  An  Essay  on  the  Picturesque 
as  Compared  with  the  Sublime  and  the  Beautiful,  and 
on  the  Use  of  Studying  Pictures  for  the  Purpose  of 
Improving  Real  Landscape,  1794.  This  is  published  in 
many  editions.  The  best  one  (fide  Mrs.  Van  Rensselaer) 
is  that  of  1842,  edited  by  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder. 

Repton,  Humphrey,  Observations  on  the  Theory 
and  Practice  of  Landscape  Gardening,  1793.  This  is 
the  most  valuable  of  early  works  on  the  practice  of  land- 
scape gardening.     Its  instructions  are  still  of  great  value. 

RoBixsoN,  William,  The  English  Flower  Garden, 
1883.  There  are  several  editions  of  this  magnificent 
work.  Tlie  later  ones  have  been  revised  by  the  author, 
and  a  great  deal  of  descriptive  and  illustrative  matter 
added.  Describes  an"d  illustrates  large  numbers  of 
plants.  A  valuable  book  of  reference.  The  same 
author  has  written  The  Parks,  Promenades  and  Gardens 
of  Paris,  18G9.     An  interestmg  and  suggestive  volume. 

Shexstone,  William,  Unconnected  Thoughts  on 
Gardening,  1764. 

Wheatley,  Thomas,  Observations  on  Modern  Gar- 
dening, 1770.  In  various  editions,  the  first  edition 
being  published  anonymously.  Tliis  is  one  of  the  best 
early  works  on  the  theory  of  landscape  gardening. 


148  LANDSCAPE  GARDEKING. 

AMERICAN    BOOKS. 

Bailey,  L.  H.,  Garden-Making,  Kew  York,  1898. 
Contains  some  useful  chapters  on  landscape  gardening. 

Downing,  A.  J.,  A  Treatise  on  the  Theory  and 
Practice  of  Landscape  Gardening,  adapted  to  North 
America,  1841.  This  was  the  first  great  work  on  land- 
scape gardening  in  America,  and  one  "which  will  always 
remain  a  classic.     There  are  many  editions. 

Howe,  AValter,  The  Garden,  as  Considered  in  Lit- 
erature by  Certain  Polite  Writers.  New  York,  1890. 
Contains  selections  from  Pliny  the  Elder,  Pliny  the 
Younger,  Lord  Bacon,  Sir  William  Temple,  Joseph 
Addison,  Alexander  Pope,  Lady  Montague,  Thomas 
Wheatley,  Oliver  Goldsmith,  Horace  Walpole  and  John 
Evelyn.     A  dainty  and  companionable  little  book. 

Long,  E.  A.,  Ornamental  Gardening  for  Americans, 
New  York,  1885.  An  excellent  treatise,  covering  espe- 
cially the  details  of  practice. 

Maynard,  S.  T.,  Landscape  Gardening  as  Applied 
to  Home  Decorations.     lUustrated,  New  York,  1899. 

Parsons,  Samuel,  Jr.,  Landsca23e  Gardening,  1891. 
A  beautiful  book,  containing  much  practical  information. 

Parsons,  S.,  Jr.,  How  to  Plant  the  Home  Grounds. 
Hlustrated,  New  York,  1899. 

Platt,  Charles  A.,  Italian  Gardens,  New  York, 
1894.  Nicely  illustrated.  The  best  monograph  we 
have  of  the  Italian  style  in  Italy. 

Rose,  N.  Jonsson,  Lawns  and  Gardens.  Nicely 
illustrated.     New  York,  1897. 

Van*  Rensselaer,  Mrs.  Schuyler,  Art  Out  of  Doors, 
New  York,  1893.  The  most  delightful  book  of  all. 
Deals  with  the  art,  not  with  the  practice,  of  gardening. 

Weidenmann,  J.,  Beautifying  Country  Homes,  New 
York,  1870.  A  very  handsome  royal  quarto  volume, 
illustrated  with  numerous  large  colored  plates  showing 
the  plans  of  places  already  improved. 


INDEX. 


Page 

Aconitum 125 

Actinidia l-*'- 

Ageratum 1^- 

Ailantlms ^0 

Akebia  quinata 142 

Alder 115 

Alyssum 1«^2 

Amalanchier 115 

American  Gartleniiig H5 

Amherst,  Alicia,  book 140 

Amorpha 115 

Ampelopsis 14'J 

Andre,  Edouard,  book 146 

Andre,  Edouard,  quoted.  ..40,  62,  87 

Anemone   125 

Annuals 129 

Annual  climbers 143 

Antirrhinum 132 

Append!  X 145 

Aquilegia 125 

Aralia 115 

Arbor  day 97 

Architectural  features  in  gar- 
dening       36 

Architectural  style 26,  37 

Architecture,  rural 93 

Aristolochia  Sipho 142 

Arnold  Arboretum 16 

Art  and  artist 3 

Artificial  constructions 21 

Artistic  qualities  of  landscape 

oomiJosition 9 

Asclepias 125 

Ash 108 

Asters 125,  132 

Atmosphere 68 

Autumn  colors 55 

Bachelor's  liutton I«i3 

Background 59 

Backyard  garden 5,  86,  130 

Bacon,  Lord  Francis,  essay 147 

Bacon,  P'rancis,  quoted 53 

Badlv  treated  plants 25 

Bailey,  L.  H.,  book 148 

Bailey,  L.  H.,  quoted 10,  88 

Balloon  vine 143 

Balsam 133 

Balsam  apple 144 

Barberry 115 

Basswood 110 

Beech 108 

Biemuelier,  J.,  quoted 123 

Bifurcations    of   drives    and 
walks.... 74 


Page 

Birch 108 

Bluebell 126 

Bocconia 126 

Bois  de  Boulogne,  Paris 22,  82 

Boldness 31,  63 

Books  on  landscape  gardening,  145 

liorders  . ". 131 

Border  planting 124 

Broken  ground 45 

Broken  surface 41 

Brooks 85 

Bulbous  plsmts 136 

Burroughs,  John 146 

Butternut 108 

Button  bush 115 

Calendula 133 

Callirhoe 126 

Calycanthus 115 

Campanula 126 

Candytuft 133 

Caragana 115 

Care  of  grounds 67 

Cartolano,  F.,  quoted 44,  62 

Castor-oil  bean 135 

Catalpa 108 

Cedar 108 

Celastrus  scandens 142 

Celosia 133 

Cemetery  gardening 63 

Centaurea 133 

Central  Park,  New  York 52 

Cephalanthus 115 

Cercis 116 

Character 62 

Cherries 119 

Chionanthus 116 

Choosing  a  style 29 

Chrysanthemum 126 

Cinquefoil 119 

City  lots 88 

Cleanliness  of  grounds 67 

Clematis  142 

Clethra 116 

Climbers 141 

Climbing  cucumber 143 

Clipped  trees 35 

Co<-ksc(mib 133 

Coffee  tree 80,  109 

Coherence 10 

Color 36,  41,  51,  54,  55,  113 

Columbine 125 

Concourses 74 

Coreopsis 126 

Coreopsis,  annual 133 


149 


150 


LANDSCAPE   GARDEiq^IiTG. 


Page 

Cornus „ 116 

Cosmos 133 

Crocus   137 

Curved  lines 17,  48 

Curves 73 

Cydonia 11(3 

Dalilia 137 

Daphne lit! 

Datura 133 

Deformed  specimens 64 

Delpliinium 12fi 

Deutzia 116 

Dianthus 133 

Diervilla 116 

Difjitalis ...  r26 

Dignity (;3 

Distance 58 

Distance  between  trees 77 

Dog's-tooth  violet 137 

Dogwood 116 

Downing,  A.  J.,  books 148 

Downing,  A.  J.,  quoted,  15,  76,  93,  97 

Drives 7'2 

Dntcliman's  Pipe  vine 14'J 

Echinocystis  lobata 143 

Elder 116,  117 

Elseagnus 117 

Elm 109 

Elms  for  streets 35,  79 

English  style 13 

Entrances 71 

Erythroniiim 137 

Exochorda 117 

Exterior  views 60 

Farm  liouse 94 

Farmyards 93 

Fences 24,  96 

Finish 66 

Flagg,  Wilson,  quoted 113 

Flat  ground,  treatment  of 30 

FloAver  beds 38, 131 

Foreground 47,  60 

Forsy  thia 117 

Fountains 38 

Foxglove 126 

Fringe  tree 116 

Gaillardia 133 

Garden  and  Forest 145 

Gardener 6 

f^ardener's  materials 106 

hardening 3 

"  Gay  "  style  in  gardening 87 

General  problems 70 

OeoniPtrical  lines 31 

Geometrical  style 26,  91 

Geometrical     style     on     flat 

ground 30 

Gilpin,  William,  books. 147 

Gilpin,  William,  quoted 40 

Gili>in's    idea  of    picturesque- 

ness 41 

Ginlciro  trees 80,  109 

Gladiolus 137 

Golden-Bell 117 

Goldenrod 128 

Grace 31 

Grouped  trees 19 


Grouping 43,  57 

Guelder  rose 

H  ack  berry 

Hardv  perennials 

Harebell 

Hedges 24, 

Heienium 

Heliantlius 

Her<!ules  <rlub 

Hollyhock 

Honey  locust 

Honeysu(!kle 

Honeysuckle,  climbing 

Hop  vine 

Hoise-<'.hestnut 

Horti(Mdturist 

Hotel  Ponce  de  Leon 

Howe,  Waiter,  book 

Hunneweli,  H.  H.,  grounds 

Hydrangea 

Hyi)eri<!uni 

Ipomoea 

Iris 

Italian  style 13,  26,  28 

Ivy 

Jaeger,  H.,  books 

" Jimpsou  Weed" 

Judas  tree . . 

June 

Juneberrv 

Karr,  Alphonse,  quoted 

Kemp,  Edward,  quoted 

Kenia .     

Koelrenteiia 

Landscape  architect 

Landscape  gardener 

Landscape  gardening 

Larkspur 

Lawns 17 

Lepachys 

I^igustriim 

r>i  1  ac 


Lily 

Linden 

Lines,  cnrved 

Long,  E.  A.,  book 

Long,  E.  A.,  quoted 

Lonicera. 

T^onicera,  cliinViing 

London,  J.  C,  book 

London.  INIrs.,  quoted 

Mntrnolias 

M  a  ]>1  es 

Maple  for  street-* 

Mathews,  F.  Schuyler,  quoted 

44 

Maurandia 

Maynard,  Samuel  T.,  book 

MciiiR]>erinum  Canadense 

Middle  ground 

Midsummer  shade 

M  i  1  i  t  ar  v  pa  rk  en  trance 

Mina..:.:     

Mitchell.  D(maldG 

Moniuvdi-a 

Monkshood 

Monstrosities 


,59 
122 
109 

96 
126 

89 
126 
126 
115 
126 
109 
119 
143 
143 
109 
145 

11 
148 

33 
118 
118 
144 
137 
,  33 
142 
147 
133 
116 

54 
115 
141 

66 
118 
109 
6 
6 
3 
126 
,32 
127 
118 
119 
1.38 
110 

17 
148 
141 
119 
143 
147 
1.36 
110 
110 

79 

129 
143 
148 
143 
<)0 
55 
73 
143 
146 
144 
126 
64 


INDEX. 


151 


Monte  Carlo 28 

Moonseed 143 

Morning  Glory 144 

?«Ioiintain  scenery 41 

Mulberry 110 

My  rica 119 

Narcissi!  3 139 

Nasturtium i;i4 

Nasturtium,  climbing 144 

Naturalistic  gardening 93 

Naturalness,  to  gain —     15 

Naturalness,  to  lose '21 

Natural  style 15 

Natural  style  in  France 22 

New  England  village  streets...     7G 

Oak Ill 

Oenothera 127 

Oleaster 117 

Olmsted,  F.  L.,  quoted 99 

Olmsted,  Jolin  C,  quoted 81 

Orpet,  E.  O.,  quoted 129 

Palms  for  street  planting 78 

Pansy 134 

Papaver 127 

Park  management 101 

Park  planting 99 

Parks,  uses  of 99 

Parsons,  Samuel,  Jr.,  books 148 

Parsons,  Samuel,  Jr.,  quoted. . .     81 

Pattern  bedding 38,  103 

Paulownia Ill 

Pea  tree 115 

Pentstemon 128 

Peony 128 

Perenn  ials 123 

Perennial  climbers 142 

Petunia 134 

Philadelphus 119 

Phlox 128 

Phlox  Drummondii 134 

Picturesque  style 13,  40 

Picturesque  trees 4<) 

Pine Ill 

Pinks 133 

Ponds 83 

Poplar Ill 

Poplars  on  streets 80 

Poppy 127 

Poppy,  annual 135 

Popular  Gardening 145 

Porches 141 

Potent  ilia 119 

Pot  Marigold 1.33 

Price,  Sir  Uvedale,  essay 147 

Privcicy, 89,  90 

Privet 118 

I'ropriety (V.i 

Prospect  Park,  Brooklyn, 47,  59,  102 

Pruning 114 

Prunus 119 

Plane  tree 112 

Plans 12,  89 

Piatt,  Charles  A.,  book 148 

Piatt,  Charles  A.,  quoted 20 

Plums 111,119 

Quince 116 

Red  bud 116 


Pagt 

Repton,  Humphrey,  book 147 

Rexford,  E.  E.,  quoted 136 

Rhododendrons 120 

Rhus 120 

Ribes 120 

Ricinus 135 

Robinson,  William,  books 147 

Robinson,  William,  quoted....  113 

Rockery 23 

Rose,  N.  Jonsson,  book 148 

Roses 120 

Rubus 121 

Rudbeckia 128 

Rural  gardening........ 93 

Rustic  bridge 43 

Rustic  work 72 

Sanitation,  mental 190 

Sargent,  C.  S.,  quoted 113 

School  grounds 97 

Screen 59 

Shad  busli »  115 

Shade  trees 94 

Slienstone,  William,  book 147 

Shrubs 18-20,  95,  98,  113 

Simplicit  y 31,  62,  63 

Singletrees 58 

Sky  line 42,  49 

Sloping  ground 45 

Snapdragon 132 

Snowball 122 

Snowberry 121 

Solidago 128 

Specifications 12 

Si)ice  bush 115 

Spiraia 121,  128 

Si)ring  effects 54 

Spruce Ill 

Stiles,  W.  A.,  quoted 99 

Stocks 135 

Straightlines 21 

Street  planting 34 

Streets  and  avenues 76 

Styles  of  gardening...  40 

Sub-tropical  gardening 11 

Suburban  lots 88 

Sumach 120 

Summer  houses 23 

Sunflower 126 

Sunflowers,  annual 135 

Surface 41,  45 

Sweet  gale 119 

Sweet  gum 112 

Sweet  pea 135,  144 

Sycamore 112 

Sycamore  for  streets 79 

Symphoricarpus 121 

Syringa 119 

TJible  Mountain  pine 42 

Tecoma 143 

Terraces 36 

Texture 51-52 

Thoreau 146 

Thorn  trees 112 

Topiary  work 35 

Trailing  vines 46 

Transplanting  annuals 131 

Trees 107 


15% 


LANDSCAPE  GAKDENING. 


Page 

Trees  analyzed 50 

Tree5?  for  shade 94 

Tree  rows 32 

Trellises 23 

Trianon,  Paris 84 

Trillium l'J8 

Tropa'oluin 134 

Tropa'olum,  climbing 144 

Trumpet  creeper 143 

Tuberose 130 

Tulip 139 

Tulip  tree IIJ 

TTuion  of  building  with  grounds    20 

TTuity 10,  89 

Van  Dyke  John  C,  quoted  ....     10 

Van  Kensselaer,  JNIrs.,  bt)ok 148 

Van  Rensselaer,  Mrs.,  quoted 

3,50,51,  71 

Variety 44 

Verbena 135 

Viburnum 122 

Virgin's  bower 143 


Page 

Vistas 49 

Walks 73 

Walnut 112 

Warn  er,  Charles  Dudley 146 

Washington  Park,  Albany 49 

Water ;  .46,  81 

Weather 68 

Weidenmann,  J.,  book 148 

Weigelia 116 

Wheat  ley,  Thomas,  book 147 

Wlieatley,  Thomas,  quoted  ....    40 

White  surfaces 25 

Willows 112,  121 

AVinter  gardens 57 

Winter  picture 56 

Wistaria 143 

World's  Fair,  Chicago 27 

World's  Fair  grounds,  Chicago, 

14,37 

Yucca 140 

Zinnias 185 


Library 


STANDARD    BOOKS. 

Forest  Planting. 

By  H.  Nicholas  Jarchow,  LL.  D.  A  treatise  on  the  care 
of  woodlands  and  the  restoration  of  the  denuded  timbcrlands 
on  plains  and  mountains.  The  author  has  fully  described 
those  European  methods  which  have  proved  to  be  most  useful 
in  maintaining  the  superb  forests  of  the  old  world.  This  expe- 
rience has  been  adapted  to  the  different  climates  and  trees  of 
America,  full  instructions  being  given  for  forest  planting  of 
our  various  kinds  of  soil  and  subsoil,  whether  on  mountain 
or  valley.    Illustrated.    250  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth.      $1.50 

Soils  and  Crops  of  the  Farm. 

By  George  E.  AIorrow,  M.  A.,  and  Thomas  F.  Hunt.  The 
methods  of  making  available,  the  plant  food  in  the  soil  are 
described  in  popular  language.  A  short  history  of  each  of 
the  farm  crops  is  accompanied  by  a  discussion  of  its  culture. 
The  useful  discoveries  of  science  are  explained  as  applied 
in  the  most  approved  methods  of  culture.  Illustrated.  310 
pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.00 

I  and  Draining. 

A  handbook  for  farmers  on  the  principles  and  pi  actice  of 
draining,  by  IManly  Miles,  giving  the  results  of  his  extended 
experience  in  laying  tile  drains.  The  directions  for  the  laying 
out  and  the  construction  of  tile  drains  will  enable  the  farmer 
to  avoid  the  errors  of  imperfect  construction,  and  the  disap- 
pointment that  must  necessarily  follow.  This  manual  for 
practical  farmers  will  also  be  found  convenient  for  reference 
in  regard  to  many  questions  that  may  arise  in  crop  growing, 
aside  from  the  special  subjects  of  drainage  of  which  it  treats. 
Illustrated.     200  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.       .         .         J;;i.oo 

Barn  Plans  and  Ontbuildiniss. 


^* 


Two  hundred  and  fifty-seven  illustrations.  A  most  valu- 
able work,  full  of  ideas,  hints,  suggestions,  plans,  etc.,  for  the 
ujnstruction  of  barns  and  outbuildings,  by  practical  writers. 
Chapters  are  devoted  to  the  economic  erection  and  use  of 
barns,  grain  barns,  horse  barns,  cattle  barns,  sheep  barns,  corn- 
houses,  smokehouses,  icehouses,  pig  pens,  granaries,  etc. 
There  are  likewise  chapters  on  birdhouses,  doghouses,  tool 
sheds,  ventilators,  roofs  and  roofing,  doors  and  fastenings, 
workshops,  poultry  houses,  manure  sheds,  barnyards,  root  pits, 
etc.    235  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.  ,        '.         .        $1.00 


STANDARD    BOOKS. 

Herbert's  Hints  to  Horse  Keepers. 

By  the  late  Henry  William  Herbert  (Frank  Forester). 
This  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  popular  works  on  the  horse 
prepared  in  this  country.  A  complete  manual  for  horsemen, 
embracing :  How  to  breed  a  horse ;  how  to  buy  a  horse ;  how 
to  break  a  horse ;  how  to  use  a  horse ;  how  to  feed  a  horse ; 
how  to  physic  a  horse  (allopathy  or  homeopathy)  ;  how  to 
groom  a  horse ;  how  to  drive  a  horse ;  how  to  ride  a  horse, 
etc.  Beautifully  illustrated.  425  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

Diseases  of  Horses  and  Cattle. 

By  Dr.  D.  ^McIntosh,  V.  S.,  professor  of  veterinary 
science  in  the  university  of  Illinois.  Written  expressly  for  the 
farmer,  stockman  and  veterinary  student.  A  new  work  on 
the  treatment  of  animal  diseases,  according  to  the  modern 
status  of  veterinary  science,  has  become  a  necessity.  Such  an 
one  is  this  volume  of  over  400  pages,  written  by  one  of  the 
most  eminent  veterinarians  of  our  country.  Illustrated.  426 
pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $1-75 

TJie  lee  Crop. 

By  Theron  L.  Hiles.  How  to  harvest,  ship  and  use  ice. 
A  complete,  practical  treatise  for  farmers,  dairymen,  ice 
dealers,  produce  shippers,  meat  packers,  cold  storers,  and  all 
interested  in  icehouses,  cold  storage,  and  the  handling  or  use 
,of  ice  in  any  way.  Including  many  recipes  for  iced  dishes  and 
beverages.  The  book  is  illustrated  by  cuts  of  the  tools  and 
machinery  used  in  cutting  and  storing  ice,  and  the  different 
forms  of  icehousjs  and  cold  storage  buildings.  Illustrated. 
122  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.  ....         $1.00 

TJie  Secrets  of  Health,  or  How  Not  to  Be  Siek,  and 
Hozv  to  Get  Well  from  Sickness. 

By  S.  PL  Platt,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  late  member  of  the  Connect- 
icut Eclectic  ]\Tedical  Society,  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  and  honorary  member  of  the  National  Bacterio- 
logical Society  of  America ;  our  medical  editor  and  author  of 
"talks  With  Our  Doctor"'  and  "Our  Health  Adviser."  Nearly 
600  pages.  An  index  cf  20  pages,  so  that  any  topic  may  be 
instantly  consulted.  A  new  departure  in  medical  knowledge 
for  the  people — the  latest  progress,  secrets  and  practices  of  all 
schools  of  healing  made  available  for  the  common  people — 
health  without  medicine,  nature  without  humbug,  common 
sense  without  folly,  science  without  fraud.  81  illustrations. 
576  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.  ....         $1.50 

2 


STANDARD    BOOKS. 

Hunter  and  Trapper. 

By  Halsey  Thrasher,  an  old  and  experienced  sportsman. 
The  best  modes  of  hunting  and  trapping  are  fully  explained, 
^nd  foxes,  deer,  bears,  etc.,  fall  into  his  traps  readily  by  fol~ 
lowing  his  directions.  Illustrated.  92  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $0.50 

Batty's  Practical  Taxidermy  and  Home  Decoration. 

By  Joseph  H.  Batty,  taxidermist  for  the  government 
surve>s  and  many  colleges  and  museums  in  the  United  Stales. 
An  entirely  new  and  complete  as  well  as  authentic  work  on 
taxidermy — ^^giving  in  detail  full  directions  for  collecting 
and  mounting  animals,  birds,  reptiles,  fish,  insects,  and 
general  objects  of  natural  history.  125  illustrations.  204 
pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.00 

Hemp. 

By  S.  S.  BoYCE.  A  practical  treatise  on  the  culture  of 
hemp  for  seed  and  fiber,  with  a  sketch  of  the  history  and 
nature  of  the  hemp  plant.  The  various  chapters  are  devoted 
to  the  soil  and  climate  adapted  to  the  culture  of  hemp  for 
seed  and  for  fiber,  irrigating,  harvesting,  retting  and  machin- 
ery for  handling  hemp.  Illustrated.  112  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $0.5G 

Alfalfa. 

By  F.  D.  CoBURN.  Its  growth,  uses  and  feeding  value. 
The  fact  that  alfalfa  thrives  in  almost  any  soil;  that  without 
reseeding,  it  goes  on  yielding  two,  three,  four  and  sometimes 
five  cuttings  annually  for  five,  ten,  or  perhaps  lOO  years;  and 
that  either  green  or  cured  it  is  one  of  the  most  m-'tritious 
forage  plan's  known,  makes  reliable  information  upon  i*s  ];ro- 
dnction  and  r?cs  of  unusual  interest.  Such  information  is 
given  in  this  volum<;  for  every  part  of  America,  by  the  highest 
amhority.     Illustrated.     164  pages.    5x7  inches.     Cloth.       $0.50 

Talks  on  Manure. 

By  Joseph  Harris,  IM.  S.  A  series  of  familiar  and 
practical  talks  between  the  author  and  the  deacon,  the  doctor, 
and  other  neighbors,  on  the  whole  subject  of  manures  and 
fertilizers;  including  a  chapter  especially  written  for  it 
by  Sir  John  Bennet  Lawes  of  Rolliamsted,  England.  366 
pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.50 


Si'ANDARD    BOOKS. 

Practical  Forestry. 

B}^  Andrew  S.  Fuller.  A  treatise  on  the  propagation, 
planting  and  cultivation,  with  descriptions  and  the  botanical 
ano  popular  names  of  all  the  indigenous  trees  of  the  United 
States,  and  notes  on  a  large  number  of  the  most  valuable 
exotic  species.  Illustrated.  300  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

Wrigation  for  the  Farm,  Garden  and  Orchard. 

By  Henry  Stewart.  This  work  is  offered  to  those 
American  farmers  and  other  cultivators  of  the  soil  who,  from 
painful  experience,  can  readily  appreciate  the  losses  which 
result  from  the  scarcity  of  water  at  critical  periods.  Fully 
illustrated.     276  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.       .         .         %i.0Ci 

Irrigation  Fanning. 

By  Lute  Wilcox.  A  handbook  for  the  practical  applica- 
tion of  water  in  the  production  of  crops.  A  complete  treatise 
on  water  supply,  canal  construction,  reservoirs  and  ponds, 
pipes  for  irrigation  purposes,  flumes  and  their  structure, 
methods  of  applying  water,  irrigation  of  field  crops,  the 
garden,  the  orchard  and  vineyard,  windmills  and  pumps, 
apf>liances  and  contrivances.  New  edition,  revised,  enlarged 
and  rewritten.  Pro/'usely  illustrated.  Over  500  pages.  5x7 
inches.      Cloth. $2.00 

Ginseng,   Its   Cultivation.  Harvesting,   Marl^efing  and 
MarJcet  Value. 

By  Maurice  G.  Katns,  with  a  short  account  of  its  history 
and  botany.  It  discusses  in  a  practical  way  how  to  begin  with 
either  seed  or  roots,  soil,  climate  and  location,  preparation, 
planting  and  maintenance  of  the  beds,  artificial  propagation, 
manures,  enemies,  selection  for  market  and  for  improvement, 
preparation  for  sale,  and  the  profits  that  may  be  expected. 
This  booklet  is  concisely  written,  well  and  profusely  illus- 
trated, and  should  be  in  the  hands  of  all  who  expect  to  grow 
this  drug  to  supply  the  export  trade,  and  to  add  a  new  and 
profitable  industry  to  their  farms  and  gardens,  without  inter- 
fering with  the  regular  work.  New  edition.  Revised  and  en 
larged.    Illustrated.    5x7  inches.     Cloth.     .         .         ,         $0.50 

Trucic  Farming  at  the  South. 

By  A.  Oejnii.er.  a  work  giving  the  experience  of  a  suc- 
cessful grower  of  vegetables  or  "garden  truck"  for  northern 
markets.  Essential  to  anyone  who  contemplates  entering  this 
profitable  field  of  agriculture.     Illustraied.       274  pages.     5x7 

inches.     Cloth. $1.00 

4 


STANDARD    BOOKS. 

Henderson's  Practical  Flonculture, 

By  Peter  Henderson.  A  guide  to  the  successful  propaga- 
tion and  cultivation  of  florists'  plants.  The  work  is  not  one 
for  florists  and  gardeners  only,  but  the  amateur's  wants  are 
constantly  kept  in  mind,  and  we  have  a  very  complete  treatise 
on  the  cultivation  of  flowers  under  glr.ss,  or  in  the  open  air, 
suited  to  those  who  grov/  flowers  for  pleasure  as  well  as  those 
who  make  them  a  matter  of  trade.  New  and  enlarged  edition. 
Beautifi  lly  illustrated.     325  pa~c3.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.     $1.50 

Mushrooms.    IIozj  to  GrG:v  Tlicuu 

By  William  Falconer.  This  is  the  most  practical  work 
on  the  subject  ever  written,  and  the  only  book  on  growing 
mushrooms  published  in  Ameii-.a.  The  author  describes  how 
he  grows  mushrooms,  and  how  they  are  grown  for  profit  by 
the  leading  market  gardeners,  and  for  home  use  by  the  most 
successful  private  growers.  Engravings  drawn  from  nature 
expressly  for  this  work.     170  pages.    5x7  inches.     Cloth.    $1,00 

Play  and  ProCil  in  My  Garden. 

By  E.  P.  Roe.  The  author  takes  us  to  his  garden  on  the 
rocky  hillsides  in  the  vicinity  of  West  Point,  and  shows  us 
how  out  of  it,  after  four  years'  experience,  he  evoked  a  profit 
of  $1000,  and  this  while  carrying  on  pastoral  and  literary 
labor.  It  is  very  rarely  that  so  much  literary  tastt  and  skill 
are  mated  to  so  much  agricultural  experience  and  good  sense. 
Illustrated.     350  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.        .         .         $1.00 

Fumigation  Methods. 

By  Willis  G.  Johnson.  A  timely  up-to-date  book  on 
the  practical  application  of  the  new  methods  for  destroying 
insects  with  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  and  carbon  bisulphid,  the 
most  powerful  insecticides  ever  discovered.  It  is  an  indispen- 
sable book  for  farmers,  fruit  growers,  nurserymen,  gardeners, 
florists,  millers,  grain  dealers,  transportation  companies,  col- 
lege and  experiment  station  workers,  etc.  Illustrated.  313 
pages.     5x7   inches.     Cloth.         .....         $1.00 

Fungi  and  Fungicides. 

By  Prof.  Clarence  'SI.  Weed.  A  practical  manual  con- 
cerning the  fungous  diseases  of  cultivated  plants  and  the 
means  of  preventing  their  ravages.  The  author  has  endeav- 
ored t*^)  give  such  a  concise  account  of  the  most  important 
facts  relating  to  these  as  will  enable  the  cultivator  to  combat 
them  intelligently,  co  illustrations.  222  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Paper,  50  cents;  cloth $1.00 

5 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 

Insects  and  Insecticides. 

By  Clarence  ]\I.  Weed,  D.  Sc  professor  cf  entomology 
and  zoology,  New  Hampshire  college  of  agriculture.  A  practi- 
cal manual  concerning  noxi  ,us  insects,  and  methods  of 
preventing  their  injuries.  Many  illustrations.  334  pages. 
5x7    inches.      Cloth $1.50 

Hoiv  Crops  Groii\ 

By  Prof.  Samuel  W.  Johnson  of  Yale  college.  New  and 
revised  edition.  A  treatise  on  the  chemical  composition, 
structure  and  life  cf  the  plant.  This  hook  is  a  guide  to  the 
knowledge  of  agricultural  plants,  their  composition,  their 
structure  and  modes  of  development  and  growth  ;  of  the  com- 
plex organization  rf  plants,  and  the  use  of  the  parts;  the 
germination  of  seeds,  and  the  food  of  plants  ol^tained  both 
from  the  air  and  the  soil.  The  book  is  ip.cisper.sable  to  all 
real  students  of  agriculture.  With  numerous  illustrations  and 
tables    of   analysis.     416    pages.     5x7    inches.     Cloth.        $1.50 

Tobacco  Leaf. 

By  J.  B.  KiLLEBREW  and  Herbert  Mvrick.  Its  Culture 
and  Cure,  Marketing  and  Manufacture.  A  practical  handbook 
on  the  most  approved  methods  in  growing,  harvesting,  curing, 
packing  and  selling  tobacco,  with  an  account  of  the  opera- 
tions in  every  department  of  tobacco  manufacture.  The 
contents  of  this  book  are  based  on  actual  experiments  in  field, 
curing  barn,  packing  house,  factory  and  laboratory.  It  is  the 
only  work  of  the  kind  in  existence,  and  is  destined  to  be  the 
standard  practical  and  scientific  authority  on  the  whole  subject 
of  tobacco  for  many  years.  506  pages  and  150  original  en- 
gravings.   5x7  inches.     Cloth $2.00 

Cohiirn's  Sidne  Husbandry. 

By  F.  D.  Coburn.  New,  revised  and  enlarged  edition. 
The  breeding,  rearing  and  management  of  swine,  and  the 
prevention  and  treatment  of  their  diseases.  It  is  the  fullest 
and  freshest  compendiiun  relating  to  swine  breeding  yet 
offered.     Illustrated.     312  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.        $1.50 

Home  Pork  Making. 

The  art  of  raising  and  curing  pork  on  the  farm.  By 
A.  W.  Fulton.  A  complete  guide  for  the  farmer,  the  country 
butcher  and  the  suburljan  dweller,  in  all  that  pertains  to  hog 
slaughtering,  curing,  preserving  and  storing  pork  product — 
from  scalding  vat  to  kitchen  table  and  dining  room.  Illus- 
trated.    125  pages.     5x7  mches.     Cloth.       .         .         .        $0.50 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 

Harris  on  the  Pig. 

By  Joseph  Harris.  New  edition.  Revised  and  enlarged 
by  the  author.  The  points  of  the  various  Enghsh  and  Ameri- 
can breeds  are  thoroughly  discussed,  and  the  great  advantage 
of  using  thoroughbred  males  clearly  shown.  The  work  is 
equally  valuable  to  the  farmer  who  keeps  but  few  pigs,  and 
to  the  breeder  on  an  extensive  scale.  Illustrated.  318  pages, 
5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.00 

The  Dairyman's  Manual 

By  Henry  Stewart,  author  of  "The  Shepherd's  Manual," 
"Irrigation,"  etc.  A  useful  and  practical  work,  by  a  writer 
who  is  well  known  as  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  subject 
of  which  he  writes.  Illustrated.  475  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Qoth $1-50 

Feeds  and  Feeding. 

By  W.  A.  Henry.  This  handbook  for  students  and  stock- 
men constitutes  a  compendium  of  practical  and  useful  knowl- 
edge on  plant  growth  and  animal  nutrition,  feeding  stuffs, 
feeding  animals  and  every  detail  pertaining  to  this  important 
subject.  It  is  thorough,  accurate  and  reliable,  and  is  the  most 
valuable  contribution  to  live  stock  literature  in  many  years. 
All  the  latest  and  best  information  is  clearly  and  systematically 
presented,  making  the  work  indispensable  to  every  owner  of 
live  stock.     658  pages.     6x9  inches.     Cloth.       .         .         $2.00 

The  Propagation,  of  Plants. 

By  Andrew  S.  Fuller.  An  eminently  practical  and  use- 
ful work  describing  the  process  of  hybridizing  and  crossing 
species  and  varieties  and  also  the  many  different  modes  by 
which  cultivated  plants  may  be  propagated  and  multiplied. 
Illustrated.     350   pages.     5x7    inches.     Cloth.     .         .         $1.50 

Gardening  for  Pleasnre. 

By  Peter  Henderson.  A  guide  to  the  amateur  in  the 
fruit,  v^egetable  and  flower  garden,  with  full  descriptions  for 
ihe  greenhouse,  conserv?:tory  and  window  garden.  It  meets 
the  wants  of  all  classes  in  country,  city  and  village,  who  keep 
a  garden  for  their  own  enjoyment  rather  than  for  the  sale  of 
products.      Finely      illustrated.      404      pages,      5x7      inches. 

Cloth $1.50 

7 


STANDARD    BOOKS. 

Pri:;e  Gardening. 

Compiled  by  G.  Burnap  Fiske.  This  iiniqite  book  shov,  v 
how  to  derive  profit,  pleasure  and  health  from  the  garden^ 
by  giving  the  actual  experiences  of  the  successful  prize  win- 
ners in  the  American  Agriculturist  garden  contest.  Every 
line  is  from  actual  experience  based  on  real  work.  The  result 
is  a  mine  and  treasure  house  of  garden  practice,  comprising 
the  grand  prize  gardener's  methods,  gardening  for  profit,  farm 
gardens,  the  home  acre,  town  and  city  gardens,  experimental 
gardening,  methods  under  glass,  success  with  specialties,  prize 
flowers  and  fruits,  gardening  by  women,  boys  and  girls,  irriga- 
tion, secrets,  etc.,  etc.  Illustrated  from  original  photos.  320 
pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.         .         .         ,         ,         .         $1.00 

Gardening  for  Profit. 

By  Peter  Henderson.  The  standard  work  on  market  and 
family  gardening.  The  successful  experience  of  the  author 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  his  willingness  to  tell,  as  he 
does  in  this  work,  the  secret  of  his  success  for  the  benefit  of 
others,  eriTibles  him  to  give  most  valuable  information.  The 
book  is  profusely  illustrated.  376  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth. $1.50 

The  Windozu  Flower  Garden. 

By  Julius  J.  Heinrich.  The  author  is  a  practical  florist, 
and  this  enterprising  volume  embodies  his  personal  experience 
in  window  gardening  during  a  long  period.  New  and  enlarged 
edition.    Illustrated.     123  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.        $0.50 

Market  Cardeui]ig  and  Farm  Notes. 

By  Burnett  Landreth.  Experiences  and  observation  for 
both  north  and  south,  of  interest  to  the  amateur  gardener, 
trucker  and  farmer.  A  novel  feature  of  the  book  is  the  calen- 
dar of  farm  and  garden  operations  for  each  month  of  the  year ; 
the  chapters  on  fertilizers,  transplanting,  succession  and  rota- 
tion of  crops,  the  packing,  shipping  and  marketing  of  vege- 
tables will  be  especially  useful  to  market  gardeners.  315  pages. 
5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.00 

The  SUidy  of  Breeds. 

By  Thomas  Shaw.     Origin,  history,  distribution,  charac- 
teristics, adaptability,  uses,  and  standards  of  excellence  of  all 
pedigreed  breeds  of  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  in  America.     The 
accepted     text     book     in     colleges,     and     the     authority     for 
farmers    and    breeders.     Illustrated.     371    pages.     5x7    inches. 
GJoth.  ...  .....         $i.5a 

8 


STANDARD    BOOKS, 

Animal  Breeding* 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  This  book  is  the  most  complete  and 
comprehensive  work  ever  published  on  the  subject  of  which 
it  treats.  It  is'the  first  book  which  has  systematized  the  subject 
of  animal  breeding.  The  leading  laws  which  govern  this 
most  intricate  question  the  author  has  boldly  defined  and 
authoritatively  arranged.  The  chapters  which  he  has  written 
on  the  more  involved  features  of  the  subject,  as  sex  and  the 
relative  influence  of  parents,  should  go  far  toward  setting  at 
rest  the  wildly  speculative  views  cherished  with  reference  to 
these  questions.  The  striking  originality  in  the  treatment  of 
the  subject  is  no  less  conspicuous  than  the  superb  order  and 
regular  sequence  of  thought  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  book.  The  book  is  intended  to  meet  the  needs  of  aH 
persons  interested  in  the  breeding  and  rearing  of  live  stock. 
Illustrated.    405  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.         .  .         $1.50 

Forage  Crops  Other  Than  Grasses. 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  How  to  cultivate,  harvest  and  use 
them.  Indian  corn,  sorghum,  clover,  leguminous  plants,  crops 
of  the  brassica  genus,  the  cereals,  millet,  field  roots,  etc. 
Intensely  practical  and  reliable.  Illustrated.  287  pages.  5x7 
inches.      Cloth $i-00 

Soiling  Crops  and  the  Silo. 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  The  growing  and  feeding  of  all  kinds 
of  soiling  crops,  conditions  to  which  they  are  adapted,  their 
plan  in  the  rotation,  etc.  Not  a  line  i?  repeated  from  the 
Forage  Crops  book.  Best  methods  of  building  the  silo,  filling 
it  and  feeding  ensilage.  Illustrated.  364  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1-50 

Steivart's  Shepherd's  Manual 

By  Henry  Stewart.  A  valuable  practical  treatise  on  the 
sheep  for  American  farmers  and  sheep  growers.  It  is  so 
plain  that  a  farmer  or  a  farmer's  son  who  has  never  kept 
a  sheep  may  learn  from  its  pages  how  to  manage  a  flock 
successfully,  and  yet  so  complete  that  even  the  experienced 
shepherd  may  gather  many  suggestions  from  it.  The  results 
of  personal  experience  of  some  years,  with  the  characters  of  the 
various  modern  breeds  of  sheep,  and  the  sheep  raising  capabili- 
ties of  many  portions  of  our  extensive  territory  and  that  of 
Canada— and  the  careful  study  of  the  diseases  to  which  our 
sheep  are  chiefly  subject,  with  those  by  which  they  may  even- 
tually be  afilicted  through  unfcM-eseen  accidents — as  well  as  the 
methods  of  management  called  for  under  our  circumstances, 
are  carefully  described.     Illustrated.     276  pages.     5x7  inches. 

Cloth $1-00 

9 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 

Pear  Culture  for  Profit. 

By  P.  T.  QuiNN,  practical  horticulturist.  Teaching  how 
to  raise  pears  intelligently,  and  with  the  best  results,  how  to 
find  out  the  character  of  the  soil,  the  best  methods  of  pre- 
paring it,  the  best  varieties  to  select  under  existing  conditions, 
the  best  modes  of  planting,  pruning,  fertilizing,  grafting,  and 
utilizing  the  ground  before  the  trees  come  into  bearing,  and, 
finally,  of  gathering  and  packing  for  market.  Illustrated.  136 
pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.00 

Cranberry  Culture. 

By  Joseph  J.  White.  Contents :  Natural  history,  history 
of  cultivation,  choice  of  location,  preparing  the  ground,  plant- 
ing the  vines,  management  of  meadows,  flooding,  enemies 
and  difficulties  overcome,  picking,  keeping,  profit  and  loss. 
Illustrated.     132  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.       .         ,        $1.00 

Ornamental  Gardening  for  Auicricans. 

By  Elias  a.  Long,  landscape  architect.  A  treatise  on 
beautifying  homes,  rural  districts  and  cemeteries.  A  plain 
and  practical  work  with  numerous  illustrations  and  instruc- 
tions so  plain  that  they  may  be  readily  followed.  Illustrated. 
390  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.       .  ...         $1.50 

Grape  Cultnrist. 

By  A.  S.  Fuller.  This  is  one  of  the  very  best  of  works 
on  the  culture  of  the  hardy  grapes,  with  full  directions  for 
all  departments  of  propagation,  culture,  etc.,  with  150  excellent 
engravings,  illustrating  planting,  training,  grafting,  etc. 
282    pages.     5x7    inches.     Cloth.         ....         $1.50 

Gardening  for  Young  and  Old. 

By  Joseph  Harris.  A  work  intended  to  interest  farmers' 
boys  in  farm  gardening,  which  means  a  better  and  more  profit- 
able form  of  agriculture.  The  teachings  are  given  in  the 
familiar  manner  so  well  known  in  the  author's  "Walks  and 
Talks  on  the  Farm."  Illustrated.  191  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.00 

Money  in  the  Garden. 

By  P.  T.  QuiNN.  The  author  gives  in  a  plain,  practical 
style  instructions  on  three  distinct  althor.gh  closely  connected 
branches  of  gardening — the  kitchen  garden,  market  garden  and 
field  culture,  from  successful  practical  experience  for  a  term 
of  years.    Illustrated.    268  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth.        $1.00 

10 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 

Plums  and  Plum  Culture. 

By  F.  A.  Waugh.  A  complete  manual  for  fruit  growers, 
nurserymen,  farmers  and  gardeners,  on  all  known  varieties 
of  plums  and  their  successful  management.  This  book  marks 
an  epoch  in  the  horticultural  literature  of  America.  It  is  a 
complete  monograph  of  the  plums  cultivated  in  and  indigenous 
to  North  America.  It  wall  be  found  indispensable  to  the 
scientist  seeking  the  most  recent  and  auihoritative  informa- 
tion concerning  this  group,  to  the  nurseryman  who  wishes  to 
handle  his  varieties  accurately  and  intelligently,  and  to  the 
cultivator  who  would  like  to  grow  plums  successfully.  Illus- 
trated.    391  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.       .  .  .         $1.50 

Fruit,  Harvesting,  Storing,  Marketing. 

By  F.  A.  Waugh.  A  practical  guide  to  the  picking,  storing, 
shipping  and  marketing  of  fruit.  The  principal  subjects  cov- 
ered are  the  fruit  market,  fruit  picking,  sorting  and  packing, 
the  fruit  storage,  evaporating,  canning,  statistics  of  the  fruii 
trade,  fruit  package  laws,  commission  dealers  and  dealing, 
cold  storage,  etc.,  etc.  No  progressive  fruit  grower  can  afford 
to  be  without  this  most  valuable  book.  Illustrated.  232  pages. 
5x7  inches.     Cloth.     .......         $1.00 

The  Fruit  Garden. 

By  P.  Barry.  A  standard  work  on  fruit  and  fruit  trees, 
the  author  having  had  over  thirty  years'  practical  experience 
at  the  head  of  one  of  the  largest  nurseries  in  this 
country.  Invaluable  to  all  fruit  growers.  Illustrated.  516 
pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.50 

The  Nut  Culfurisr. 

By  Andrew  S.  Fuller.  A  treatise  on  the  propagation, 
planting  and  cultivation  of  nut-bearing  trees  and  shrubs 
adapted  to  the  climate  of  the  United  States,  with  the  scientific 
and  common  names  of  the  fruits  known  in  commerce  p.s 
edible  or  otherwise  useful  nuts.  Intended  to  aid  the  farmer 
to  increase  his  income  without  adding  to  his  expenses  or  labor. 
Illustrated.     290  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.       .  .         $1.50 

American  Grape  Grozcing  and  JVine  Making. 

By  George  Husmann  of  California.  New  and  enlarged 
edijtion.  With  contributions  from  well-known  grape  growers, 
giving  wide  range  of  experience.  The  author  of  this  book  is 
a  recognized  authority  on  the  subject.     Illustrated.     269  pages. 

Syi7  inches.     Cloth $1.50 

sz 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 

Turkeys  and  Hozo  to  Grozv  Them. 

Edited  by  Herbert  Myrick.  A  treatise  on  the  natural 
history  and  origin  of  the  name  of  turl<eys ;  the  various  breeds, 
the  best  methods  to  insure  success  in  the  business  of  turkey 
growing.  With  essays  from  practical  turkey  growers  in 
different  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  Copiously 
illustrated.     154  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.       .         .         $1.00 

Profits  in  Poultry. 

Useful  and  ornamental  breeds  and  their  profitalile  man- 
agement. This  excellent  work  contains  the  combined  expe- 
rience of  a  number  of  practical  men  in  all  departments  of 
poultry  raising.  It  forms  a  unique  and  important  addition  to 
our  poultry  literature.  Profusely  illustrated.  352  pages.  5x7 
inches.     Cloth.  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         $1.00 

The  AVtc  Egg  Farm. 

By  H.  H.  Stoddard.  A  practical,  reliable  manual  upon 
producing  eggs  and  poultry  for  market  as  a  profitable  business 
enterprise,  either  by  itself  or  connected  with  other  branches 
of  agriculture.  It  tells  all  about  how  to  feed  and  manage, 
how  to  breed  and  select,  incubators  and  brooders,  its  labor- 
saving  devices,  etc.,  etc.  Illustrated.  331  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.00 

Treat's  Injurious  hiseets  of  the  Farm  and  Garden. 

By  Mrs.  ]\Iary  Treat.  An  original  investigator  wh:)  has 
added  much  to  our  knowledge  of  both  plants  and  insjcts, 
and  those  who  are  familiar  with  Darwin's  works  are  aware 
that  he  gives  her  credit  for  important  ol)servation  and  discov- 
eries. New  and  enlarged  edition.  With  an  illustrated  chapter 
on  beneficial  insects.  Fully  illustrated.  296  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

The  Dogs  of  Great  Britain,  America  and  Other  Coun- 
tries. 

New,  enlarged  and  revised  edition.  Their  breeding,  train- 
ing and  management,  in  health  and  disease;  comprising  ail 
the  essential  parts  of  the  two  standard  works  on  dogs  by 
'"Stonehenge."  It  describes  the  best  game  and  hunting 
grounds  in  America.  Contains  over  one  hundred  beautiful 
engravings,  embracing  most  noted  dogs  in  both  continents, 
making,  together  with  chapters  by  American  writers,  the  most 
complete  dog  book  ever  published.  370  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.50 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 

Landscape   Gardening. 

By  F.  A.  Waugh,  professor  of  horticulture,  university  of 
Vermont.  A  treatise  on  the  general  principles  governfng 
outdoor  art;  with  sundry  suggestions  for  their  application 
in  the  commoner  prol)leins  of  gardening.  Every  paragraph  is 
short,  terse  and  to  the  point,  giving  perfect  clearness  to  the 
discussions  at  all  points.  In  spite  of  the  natural  difificulty 
of  presenting  ahstract  principles  the  whole  matter  is  made 
entirely  plain  even  to  the  inexperienced  reader.  Illustrated. 
152    pages.      5x7    inches.      Cloth.        ....         $0.50 

Hedges,  JVindhrcaks,  Shelters  and  Live  Lenees. 

By  E.  P.  Powell.  A  treatise  on  the  planting,  growth 
and  management  of  hedge  plants  for  country  and  suburban 
homes.  It  gives  accurate  directions  concerning  hedges;  how 
to  plant  and  how  to  treat  them ;  and  especially  concerning 
windbreaks  and  shelters.  It  includes  the  whole  art  of  making 
a  delightful  home,  giving  directions  for  nooks  and  balconies, 
for  bird  culture  and  for  human  comfort.  Illustrated,  140 
pages.      5x7   inches.      Cloth.        .....         $0.50 

The  New  Rhubarb  Culture. 

A  complete  guide  to  dark  forcing  and  field  culture.  Part 
I — By  J.  E.  IMoRSE,  the  well-known  Michigan  trucker  and 
originator  of  the  now  famous  and  extretnely  profitable  new 
methods  of  dark  forcing  and  field  culture.  Part  II — Compiled 
by  G.  B.  FiSKE.  Other  methods  practiced  by  the  most  experi- 
enced market  gardeners,  greenhouse  men  and  experimenters  in 
all  parts  of  America.  Illustrated.  130  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $0.50 

Greenhouse  Construction. 

By  Prof.  L.  R.  Taft.  A  complete  treatise  on  greenhouse 
structures  and  arrangements  of  the  various  forms  and  styles 
of  ])lant  houses  for  professional  florists  as  well  as  amateurs. 
All  the  best  and  most  approved  structures  are  so  fully  and 
clearly  described  that  anyone  who  desires  to  build  a  green- 
house will  have  no  difficulty  in  determining  the  kind  best 
suited  to  his  purpose.  The  modern  and  most  successful  methods 
of  heating  and  ventilating  are  fully  treated  upon.  Special 
chapters  are  devoted  to  houses  used  for  the  growing  of  one 
kind  of  plants  exclusively.  The  construction  of  hotbeds  and 
frames  receives  appropriate  attention.  Over  one  hundred 
excellent  illustrations,  specially  engraved  for  this  work,  make 
every  point  clear  to  the  reader  and  add  considerably  to  the 
artistic    appearance    of    the    book.     210    pages.     5x7    inches. 

Cloth $1.50 

13 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 

Greenhouse  Majiageiiienl. 

By  L.  R.  Taft.  This  ]x.)ok  forms  an  almost  indispensable 
companion  volume  to  Greenhouse  Construction.  In  it  the 
author  gives  the  results  of  his  many  years'  experience,  together 
with  that  of  the  most  successful  llorists  and  gardeners,  in  the 
management  cf  growing  plants  under  glass.  So  minute  and 
practical  are  the  various  systems  and  methods  of  growing 
and  forcing  roses,  violets,  carnations,  and  all  the  most  impor- 
tant florists'  plants,  as  well  as  fruits  and  vegetables  described, 
that  l)y  a  careful  study  of  this  work  and  the  following  of  its 
teachings,  failure  is  almost  impossible.  Illustrated.  382  pages. 
5x7    inches.      Cloth.  .  .  .  .  .  .         $1.50 

Bulbs  and  Tuberous-Rooted  Plants. 

By  C.  L.  Allen.  A  complete  treatise  on  the  history, 
description,  methods  of  propagation  and  full  directions  for 
the  successfid  culture  of  bulbs  in  the  garden,  dwelling  and 
greenhouse.  The  author  cf  this  book  has  for  many  years 
made  bulb  growing  a  specialty,  and  is  a  recognized  authority 
on  their  cultivation  and  management.  The  cultural  direc- 
tions are  plainly  stated,  practical  and  to  the  point.  The 
illustrations  which  embellish  this  work  have  been  drawn 
from  nature  and  have  been  engraved  especially  for  this 
book.     312  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.       .  .  .         $1.50 

Cabbage,  Caulifloiver  and  Allied  Vegetables. 

By  C.  L.  .Allen.  A  practical  treatise  on  the  various 
types  and  varieties  of  cabbage,  cauliflower,  broccoli,  Brussels 
sprouts,  kale,  collards  and  kohl-rabi.  An  explanation  is  given 
of  the  requirements,  conditions,  cultivation  and  general 
management  pertaining  to  the  entire  cabbage  group.  After  this 
each  class  is  treated  separately  and  in  detail.  The  chapter 
on  seed  raising  is  probably  the  most  authoritative  treatise  on 
this  subject  ever  published.  Insects  and  fungi  attacking  this 
class  of  vegetables  are  given  due  attention.  Illustrated.  126 
pages.     5x7   inches.      Cloth.        .....         $0.50 

Asparagus. 

Bv  F.  ]\T.  Hex.\mer.  This  is  the  first  l)ook  published  in 
America  wdiich  is  exclusively  devoted  to  the  raising  of  aspara- 
gus for  home  use  as  well  as  for  market.  It  is  a  practical 
and  relial)le  treatise  on  the  saving  of  the  seed,  raising  of  the 
plants,  selection  and  preparation  of  the  soil,  planting,  cultiva- 
tion, manuring,  cutting,  bunching,  packing,  marketing,  canning 
and  drying,  insect  enemies,  fungous  diseases  and  every  require- 
ment to  successful  asparagus  culture,  special  emphasis  bein:^ 
given  to  the  importance  of  asparagus  as  a  farm  and  money 
crop.     Illustrated.     174  pages.     5x7  inches.    Cloth.  $0.50 

14 


